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©f;fqxJT > 2-2)(3ojujrIgfft Da. 

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 


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No. 21. 


April 7th, 1892. 


Price, 25 Cents. 


The Popular Series 

Issued Monthly. 



THE KNIGHT'S 
MOTTO 


By Sylvanus Cobb, Jr., 

Author of “The Outcast of Milan,” “ Rollo of Normandy,” 
“The Scourge of Damascus,” “The Conspirator of 
Cordova,” “The Fortunes of Conrad,” “The 
Bandit of Syracuse,” “Roderick of Kil- 
dare,” “ Karl the Lion,” “ The 
Caliph of Bagdad,” “ The 
Spectre’s Secret,” 
etc., etc. 


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ROBERT BONNER’S SONS, 

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THE 

NEW YORK LEDGER. 

The Illustrated National Family 
Journal of To-day. 


A Great Quantity and Variety of Reading. 

r PHE enlarged size of the Ledger in its new form enables the 
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Novels of American Life, 
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Popular 


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Health Suggestions, 
Principles of Etiquette, 
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An Insignificant Woman. 




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W. Heimburg. 


ri 


TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN 

By MARY STUART SMITH. 

•S&’il'V 2I:C£ AT5TM 


WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY WARREN B. BA VIS. 

v.-\ it, 

12mo. itifully Illustrated. Handsomely Bound In Cloth, 

Price, $1.00. Paper Cover, 50 Cents. 

. 

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This is a ' chless story. It is a vindication of woman. It 
ends finely, l . y to bring out beautifully the glorious character 
of the heroin^ '_ne insignificant woman. The combination of 
the artistic and practical in this story makes it peculiarly suited 
to the taste of our times. It is impossible to imagine more 
beautiful and effective lessons of magnanimity and forbearance, 
strength and gentleness, than are inculcated in this novel. 
Every woman who lives for her children, her husband and her 
home will find her heart mirrored in the pages of this fascinating 
story. It is told in a manner that must please all readers, and is 
exquisitely rendered in the translation. 

For sale by all booksellers and newsdealers, or sent, postpaid, 
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THE TWO HUSBANDS; 

OR, 

BURIED SECRETS. 

BY 

MRS. HARRIET LEWIS. 


Author of “ Her Double Life,” “ Lady Kildare ,” “ Edda's 
Birthright ,” “ Beryl's Husband,” etc. 

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY F. A. CARTER. 


12mo. 402 Pages. Handsomely Bound in Cloth. 

Paper Cover, 50 Cents. 

si " t I ' \ T T / 


$ 1 . 00 . 


8TB3IM 


HT 

novels. It 
iter-headings 
Night Before 


This is one of the most interesting of Mrs. Lev 
opens with the quest for an heiress. Some of the c 
are full of suggestiveness, as, for instance: “ T’ 
the Wedding,” “Husband and Wife,” “Affair .ake a Strange 
Turn,” “ A Conflict,” “ Now for Revenge,” “I .planations,” etc. 
There is a plot and strong situations, and abundance of incident 
and movement in the story. Mrs. Lewis never failed to write a 
novel that would hold the reader from the first to the last chapter 
and satisfy the desire for agreeable excitement. To all who have 
read and admired “Her Double Life” we recommend “The 
Two Husbands.” 


For sale by all booksellers and newsdealers, or sent, post- 
paid, on receipt of price, by the publishers, 

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Works by 

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THE OUTCAST OF MILAN. 
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HOLLO OF NORMANDY. Popu- . 
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Price, 25 Cents. 

THE SCOURGE OF DAMAS- 
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THE CONSPIRATOR OF COR- 
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THfe FORTUNES OF CONRAD. 
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\WKtt’ > Tji& 'Ku YAI. OUTLAW. Popu- 
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RODERICK OF KILDARE. Pop- 
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THE KNIGHT’S MOTTO. Pop- 
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BY 

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Sylvanus Cobb, Jr., 

,t 7 

Author of “ The Outcast of Milan,” “ Rollo of Normandy ,” 
“ The Scourge of Damascus,” “ The Conspirator of Cor- 
dova,” “ The Fortunes of Conrad,” “ The Robber Count- 
ess,” “ The Royal Outlaw,” “ The Bandit of Syra- 
cuse,” “ Roderick of Kildare,” “Karl the 
Lion,” “ The Caliph of Bagdad,” “ The 



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US: .-vySit 

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NEW YORK: 

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PUBLISHERS. 


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THE POPULAR SERIES : ISSUED MONTHLY. SUBSCRIPTION PRICE, THREE DOLLARS PER ANNUM. NO. 21, 
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Copyright, 1887 and 1892, 




BY ROBERT BONNER’S SONS. 

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(All rights reserved.) 

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THE KNIGHT’S MOTTO. 


% 


CHAPTER I. 

THE CAVALCADE. 

,£981 f»n« T881 .TKfWflntqoO 

HE time of the Opetiing of our story is 
at the beginning of the ninth century 
— the time when Charlemagne was 
at the very summit of his power and 
glory. The scene is a wild, rugged 
pass of the Bohemian-Moravian 
Mountains, on the usually travelled 
highway between Prague and 
Olmutz. 

On a calm and cloudless day of 
early June, a way-worn, weary and travel-stained caval- 
cade made its way through this pass. There were six- 
and- twenty horses, with a score of riders. Four of the 
beasts had been set apart and thoroughly trained to 
the bearing of a palanquin, while two others were used 
as sumpters. The palanquin was a sumptuous affair, 

[ 7 ] 



8 The Knight's Motto. 


built with an eye to comfort and convenience, andl 
beautified and adorned with a splendor entirely regal] 
Thus far on the road it had been occupied, when they 
chose to use it, by the two females of the party, the 
Princess Rowena, of Bohemia, and her maid Elfrida. 
Included with the score of saddle-horses, were two 
strong palfries, set apart to the use of the princess and 
her attendant when they chose to exchange the palanquin 
for the saddle ; and this they had done on entering 
upon the rough and rugged road of the Zwittau Pass. 

The Princess Rowena was but little more than a 
month beyond the close of her nineteenth year of life, 
of medium height, her form perfect in its proportions, 
with a native grace and majesty that told at once of 
gentle blood and regal training. Her face was beauti- 
ful and lovely. To all that was fair and perfect in form 
and feature, she added the infinite charm which purity 
and goodness alone can give. Her silken tresses, float- 
ing, from beneath her jewelled velvet cap, freely over 
her shoulders, were of a sunny hue, gleaming in the 
slanting light like burnished gold. Her eyes, large and 
full, were of a deep, cerulean blue, with an earnest, 
truthful light that had never known a shadow. Their 
joy-beams may have been shadowed, but never, never 
their truthfulness. 

The riding-habit of the princess, remote though the 
date, was of material and fashion that would have been 
comely even at the present day. On her head she wore 
a cap of purple velvet, rising from a zone of gold thickly 
set with precious stones ; on its left side a white ostrich 
feather so trained and secured that it overlay the crown. 
Her jacket, closely fitting her full, healthful form, was 
also <pf velvet, blue in color, richly embroidered with 
gold, and secured in front, from the throat to the girdle, 
with frogs of gold set with clustered diamonds. Her 


The Cavalcade * 


9 


skirt, full and flowing, was of pearl-colored silk, over 
which, on the left side, trailed the end of a silken bal- 
dric, to which was suspended a small Damascus dagger, 
with hilt and sheath of silver. 

The maid, Elfrida, was a year older than her mistress* 
though less in stature. She was a pretty, bright-faced 
girl, pure and true, her heart given wholly to the lady 
she served. Her face was a beautiful oval, her com- 
plexion fair, though her hair and eyes were of so dark a 
brown as to appear black in certain lights. Her garb 
was of the same fashion as that of her mistress, but far 
less costly in material and adornment. Her dark 
tresses were confihed by a cap of velvet, but there was 
no golden zone nor ostrich feather. 

Close by the side of the princess, when the nature of 
the path permitted, rode the chieftain of the cavalcade, 
Sir Winfred. Though but a few months beyond the 
completion of his twenty-third year, he was accounted 
one of the best and bravest of Charlemagne’s warrior 
host. The last act of his imperial master, previous to 
his setting forth upon his present emprise, had been to 
invest him, in addition to the golden spurs of knight- 
hood, with the richly emblazoned baldric of a Paladin. 
A proud and happy moment had it been for our hero '; 
and the more pride and the greater happiness from the 
words of praise — never lightly spoken by the mighty 
conqueror — that had accompanied the investment. 

The knight was slightly taller than the average, 
with a form as perfect in its manly proportions as ever 
gladdened the eye of poet or sculptor. His muscular 
development, though wonderful in its result of physical 
strength and prowess, detracted not a whit from the 
native grace and charming ease and dignity Of his 
carriage. His face was at once beautiful and regal # 
The gentleman was stamped in evefy lineament. His 


io The Knight's Motto . 


hair, of a nut-brown hue, clustered about his shapely 
head in glossy, silken curls, and his eyes, full and lust- 
rous, beaming with a light that never wavered, were of 
that brilliant gray that so closely resembles the irides- 
cent fire of the oriental opal. 

His only defensive armor at present worn was a 
magnificent close-fitting hauberk of chain mail, extend- 
ing from the neck to the lower part of the thighs. It 
was of finely interwoven links of burnished steel, laid 
upon a ground or backing of closely padded crimson 
velvet. It might appear at a casual glance, to one not 
thoroughly versed in such matters, a slight affair for 
armor ; but the sword had not yet been forged that 
Could penetrate it. Only the blow of an axe, wielded 
'by a strong hand, could break through its intricate 
meshes. Below the hauberk appeared silken hose ; and 
lower still, the high-topped boots of russet leather and 
the golden spurs. On his head he wore a light velvet 
cap, or bonnet, over which floated a triple plume of 
bstricli feathers, secured over the left ear by a brooch 
of gold, in which was set an emerald as large as a robin’s 
egg. The sword which hung at his hip had been the 
gift of the empefor — a weapon which the great Karl 
himself had worii and used, and which few could wield 
single-handed. In Winfred’s hand, however, it was 
seemingly light as air, and many a joint and plate of 
finely-tempered armor had given way beneath its tren- 
chant strokes ; yet its edge was intact— as keen and 
reliable as when .it came from the hand of its Damas- 
cene maker. 

One other item we must notice — his shield, or buckler, 
which he carried suspended from his saddle-bow, where 
1 lib could lay his hand upon it at any moment. It was 
of bronze ; Circular in form ; its outer surface convex ; 
little more than eighteen inches in diameter; its device 


The Cavalcade . 


i x 


standing out prominently in bas-relief, was. a Riven Oak, 
prostrate, with the motto, “ Resurg am.” Many, very 
many, had asked its meaning, but it had not been told 
them. 

The knight’s lance and hemlet were borne by his 
esquire, who rode next behind him, his heavier defen- 
sive armor being upon one of the sumpter horses. 

One other knight accompanied the party— a staunch, 
battle-scarred warrior — Sir Alonzo. He was a brave 
and gallant soldier ; faithful and true ; and though qf 
middle age, he was yet proud to serve as the youthful 
Paladin’s lieutenant. 

The next person of the cavalcade deserving especial 
mention was the pioneer and guide — Englehard ; to 
the young chieftain, however, he was much more than 
that, as he will be to the reader before we have dope 
with him. Since his earliest recollection— from the 
days of his prattling childhood — Winfred could remem- 
ber good old Englehard as one wholly, especially, and 
lovingly devoted to him. When away from his mother, 
and away from his tutors, Englehard had been the one 
man who had never failed to be at his post in watchful 
care and supervision. Before the boy had been old 
enough to be trusted in the saddle, he had ridden, in 
many a gleeful bout, upon Englehard’s shoulders ; and 
when a horse had been given him, he never rode abroad 
without the faithful old servitor at his side. So that 
we can well imagine that the love between the two was 
of no ordinary kind. 

Englehard’s exact age was not known. That he was 
more than three-score was sure, however, as he had 
been a page in King Pepin’s court, at Salsburg, during 
the childhood of Charlemagne. When the latter had 
ascended to the throne of his father, Englehard became 
the first and the chief of his trusted body-servants. 


The Knight's Motto . 


1 2 


Later, in token of his love and good-will, the great Karl 
bestowed upon a near and dear friend this trusty hench- 
man. That friend was Winfred’s father, but of that 
father the son could remember little or nothing. He 
knew what he had been told, and no more. His 
earliest recollections were, first, his beautiful mother, 
the peerless Feodora, whose devotion he had repaid 
by a love that Was a part of his very being. Second, 
the great emperor, Charlemagne, who had been as a 
father to him always. Third, came Englehard. His 
first recollection of the old man was peculiar, and it was 
fixed in his mind distinctly and vividly, though he could 
not have been more than four years of age at the time 
of the occurrence. 

One day Englehard had carried the boy around the 
court of Salzburg Castle on his shoulders, and on com- 
ing in and transferring his charge to the mother, he 
had asked if anything more was required at his hands. 
Then Winfred, with growing surprise, had demanded, 
in the fullness of his heart : 

“Good Englehard, tell me, why should a brave old 
man like you call a little boy like me master ?” 

“ Because,” the strong man had answered— and Win- 
fred had never forgotten — “ you are my master, as 
your father was before you ; and while I live it shall 
be my chief joy to serve you to the uttermost, even to 
the giving of my life, should the need arise.” 

And old Englehard, of powerful frame, his once 
brown curls now whitened to a silvery sheen, but his 
health and vigor unimpaired — handsome still, and 
gallant — heavily armed, with breast-plate, and back-plate 
an iron skull-cap on his head, and mounted on a horse fit 
to bear him, was now the guide of the cavalcade. He 
had brought it from Aix la Chapelle, and intended to 
lead it to Olmutz, then the Moravian capital. 


The Cavalcade . 


l 3 


Sewald, the esquire, was a year younger than his 
master, Winfred. His father, who had been killed in 
battle during his early childhood, had been One of 
Charlemagne’s bravest knights, and 1 : the boy, when left 
fatherless, had been taken under the care- of the 
emperor. He and Winfred had been reared together. 
They had had the same tutors, had followed the same 
studies, and when, finally, they had been sent irito the 
field, they had gone in company. Later, when Winfred 
had won his knightly spurs, Sewald, at his own earnest 
request, was appoin ted «his esquire and that service he 
had performed most faithfully, and thfe ‘service had 
been the more grateful because it had been performed 
right lovingly ; for Sewald loved his gallant master with 
» alibis heart/ 1 1 bornao bed bre do fg n 3 ye r> anC) 

Sewald was not so tall as Winfred, nor so strong, but 
he was, nevertheless, one of the best and bravest of 
the army, and one of the handsomest. : ;i bed 

Is not my esquire a handsome man ?"' Sir Winfred 
often said to his friends, when the former had become 
,mrr Hal t bmdoIgn5l booO ** 

“ Ah ! Look !" the devoted Sewald Would exclaim, as 
his master passed within sight of himself and comrades. 
“ Where will you find a handsomer mati, ot one'more 
noble and gallant than is Sir Winfred ? God bless 
him !" 

And in all the host there was not one to gainsay him. 
If, perchance, through envy there might have been one 
with contradiction in his heart, he dared not speak it 
aloud. i: i: 

Behind Sewald followed the sumpter:' horses, then 
the empty palanquin ; then Sir Alonzo brought up the 
rear with fourteen stout men-at-arms, mounted on 
powerful horses, and armed, offensively and defensively, 
from top to toe. They were staunch and stern old war- 


H 


The Knight's Motto . 


riors, every one ; had stood shoulder to shoulder on 
many a hard-fought field, and they had a loyal, loving 
faith in their youthful chief. 

The cavalcade had entered the mountain pass, on the 
Bohemian frontier, early in the day, and now, towards 
the middle of the afternoon, they had passed the sum- 
mit of the range, and were descending into Moravia. 
Before the sun had set they had entered within the 
walls of Zwittau, where Englehard led them straight- 
way to a comfortable inn, the landlord of which he had 
known in other years. At first the good publican had 
stoutly demurred to the incursion of such a company 
beneath his roof ; but a few whispered words from the 
old trooper, spoken under pledge of secrecy, not only 
Overcame his scruples, but led him to put forth his best 
endeavors towards making his guests for the night as 
comfortable as possible. 

And surely those guests were in need of comfort. 
From Aix la Chapelle, where Charlemagne then held 
his court, to the confines of Moravia, a distance, as they 
had been forced to travel, of more than five hundred 
miles, they had made their way without further stop 
than had been absolutely necessary to the healthful rest 
and recuperation of both man and beast. This even- 
ing at Zwittau closed their one-and-twenticth day on 
the road. Englehard had selected the very best paths 
the country and the nature of his course afforded and 
permitted, but even they had been far from good. 
However, they had come thus far without serious mis- 
hap, and now found both rest and comfort in the 
thought that their journey, for the present, was near its 
end. OlmUtz was only forty miles away, and they were 
assumed that the road before them was one of the best 
in the country. Much of it lay through den se forest, 
but the track was well-beaten, and comparatively level. 


Hke Cavalcade . 15 


Supper had, been eaten, and Englehard, when he had 
seen the mental-arms well lodged, sought the host for a 
private confab. He was in quest of information which 
he was sure; ,old Rembert could give him. 

“Now, my good friend,” said the trooper, when he 
had succeeded in cornering the publican in one of his 
retired apartments, “ I want you to tell me something of 
the condition of the country. What is your king doing ?” 

The landlord started as though he had been stricken 
a blow and feared a; second. He cast a quick, frightened 
glance around ; and as soon as he dared trust himself 
to speak he said, in a whisper, at the same time laying a 
trembling hand on his guest’s arm : 

“Englehard ! beware ! The very walls have ears for 
Thorgard ! You can never know where his spies may 
be lurking. They are everywhere. Don’t ask me of 
him.” 

“ My good Rembert,” returned the trooper, with a 
kindly, assuring smile, “ you need not fear to speak 
freely with me. Suppose I had come to avenge the 
death of Hildebert, would you not assist me ?” 

“ — r sh / Not so loud ! Assist you ? Ah ! if that could 
be done ! But who can do it? Who can prove any- 
thing?” , ... 

“ Never mind the proof, my friend. In good time it 
will be forthcoming, never fear. What I now wish to 
know is, what is Thorgard doing ? How is he conduct- 
ing himself ? How may we expect he will receive the 
Princess of Bohemia ?” 

“ Great heaven !” ejaculated the publican, gazing first 
into his companion’s face, and then casting another 
anxious glance around the room, “you will not surely 
trust that beautiful princess within the power of our 
king ! You do not know him. Englehard, I will speak.” 
He arose from his seat, and went to the door and looked 


6 


The Knight's Motto . 


out, listening for a little time ; then came back, and drew 
his stool close to that of his friend. 

“ Tell me,” he said, earnestly, ‘‘is it really your pur- 
pose to convey the princess to the court of Thorgard ?” 

“ It is.” 

“ Why do you do it ? She is of Bohemia. If I remem- 
ber rightly, her father, with the consent of his chief 
men, willed to her the throne of the kingdom, she to 
take up the sceptre when she should be of full age. Am 
I not right ?” 

“ Yes. And the Princess Rowena is of age. Nine- 
teen was the age stated and agreed upon. Word has 
been received from Thibault, who was named as regent 
during Rowena’s minority, that he is ready and willing to 
resign the sceptre into the hands of the legitimate queen. 
Not only is he ready and willing, but the people clamor 
for their true princess, not that they are dissatisfied with 
the regent, but they have not forgotten Maximilian, the 
just and the good, and they are eager to hail his beauti- 
ful daughter as queen.” 

“Then, in heaven’s name !” cried Rembert, in blank 
astonishment, “ why did you not give the princess to her 
people while the opportunity was yours ? The court of 
Thibault is at Prague. Did you not come through that 
city ?” 

“ We came very near it, my friend ; but we did not 
enter within its walls— Stop ! you are asking me that 
which I cannot answer. There are such things as State 
secrets, and a man of the common herd had better be 
found guilty of murder than be known to possess one of 
them. Suffice it for me to assure you that we are doing 
as well as we know how. And now, good Rembert, tell 
me of Thorgard. I judge that you do not love him.” 

The publican hesitated, evidently fearing to speak the 
words that had framed themselves in his mind. Pres- 


The Cavalcade . 


17 


ently the trooper laid a hand upon his shoulder, and 
looked into his eye ; and there was real pain in his voice 
as he said : 

“ Old friend, has it come to this, that you cannot trust 
Englehard ?” 

“ No, no. But far less than I shall say to you might 
lay low the proudest head in the realm !” The host 
paused here a momept, and then, in a low, quivering 
whisper, he went on : “ The tongue of man cannot 
frame speech harsh enough to truly tell the enormities 
of Thorgard. He is simply a beast, without anything in 
his bosom that can be likened to a human heart. En- 
glehard, I would not befoul my tongue with the story of 
his crimes. Think of a wild boar possessing the 
instincts of a human tyrarft and marauder. Think of 
it, if you can, and you will think of Thorgard, King of 
Moravia !” 

“ I thank you, Rembert, for your information. Not 
even to my master will I give the name of my inform 
ant. — Ha ! What is that ?” 

Both men sprang to their feet. It was the tramp of 
horses in the court of the inn that had startled them. 

“Hark,” said the trooper, as he bent his ear toward 
one of the windows. “ Someone is questioning your 
people. Let us know what it means.” 

They left the room without further remark, Engle- 
hard taking the lead, and reached the porch that opened 
into the court just in season to see two horsemen ride 
swiftly away. The old guide could see that the man in 
the rear was broad-shouldered and tall, and that he 
wore light scale armor. 

“ Rembert, who are those men ?” 

Instead of answering, the host descended quickly into 
the court, and followed one of his grooms to the stable. 
He was gone ten minutes or more, and when he 


1 8 The Knight's Motto . 


returned trouble was plainly manifest in his face. He 
did not speak until he h^d drawn his guest back into 
the porch. Then he said, with a perceptible tremor in 
his voice : 

“ Those men are out-riders of the king — base tools — 
spies and informers — who go about the country seeking* 
whom their master may oppress, whom punish and whom 
rob. They were near by when your people emerged 
from the pass this afternoon, and — and — ” 

“ They have learned from yo.ur groom who and what 
we are ?” broke in Englehard, as the other hesitated. 

“ Yes. Poor Seifred dared not refuse to answer 
when he had been bidden to speak.” 

“ What answer did he give ? ” 

u He said it was the retinue of the Princess of Bo- 
hemia.” 

“ And the riders asked no more ?” 

“ Not another word was spoken. As soon as they had 
heard that, the pair of them made off, as we saw.” 

“ Well, well,” said the stout old trooper, after a little 
thought, “ it is too late to mend the matter now, though 
forewarned is forearmed to those who are wise. Do not 
you worry. Your man was not to blame. We should 
have kept our own secret. Let me see you again before 
you sleep. For the present I must warn my master. 
Ah ! there is mischief in this !” 




CHAPTER II. 


KARL S LETTER. 


Sir Winfred had bidden the princess good-night, and 
seen her safely on her way to her chamber, where a 
faithful sentinel was to keep watch outside her door 
through the hours of darkness, and had now returned 
to their private sitting-room, where he sat in deep and 
troubled thought. His thought was of the lady he had 
just left. He knew that he loved her — that he loved 
her with a love that had become part of his very being: 
And he believed that his love was returned. He was 
not vain ; he was not given to self-flattery. A hundred 
little signs, given on the road,— signs seemingly slight, 
but freighted with momentous consequence to him — 
had laid her heart open to him. He could not be mis- 
taken. Even now he could feel the exquisite thrill that 
had touched every nerve as the gleam of the unmis- 
takable lovelight had shone in her tell-tale eyes. He 
had thought of it before ; but never before as he 
thought of it now. In a difficult part of the mountain 
pass, where they had alighted, and gone a goodly dis- 
tance on foot, she had made a misstep, and he had saved 
her from a fall — perhaps from a terrible accident. In 
the gratefulness of the moment, giving way to the 
emotion that stirred her heart, she had let fall a word, 


[19] 


20 


The Knight's Motto. 


and had given him a look, that could leave him no 
more in doubt. 

What should he do ? What could he do ? He was a 
knight, and a paladin of the great emperor ; but what 
right had he to lift his eyes to a princess, — to one who 
might soon become a queen ? For a less crime than 
that he had seen one of the bravest knights of Christen- 
dom publicly disgraced. He would rather die a thou- 
sand deaths than suffer knightly degradation. 

“ O ! Rowena ! Rowena ! Light of my life. My 
love, my love,- — why did the emperor thus cast our lots 
together ? Could he not have seen— could he not have 
known — what result would follow ?” As the knight 
thus exclaimed he strode to and fro across the room, with 
his hands tightly clasped together upon his swelling 
bosom. “ And I must remain near her,” he went on, 
stopping in his walk, and bending his eyes to the floor. 
“Ah!” raising his head quickly, while a fierce con- 
vulsion shook his frame,— “ what if I am called upon to 
protect her from the wiles of Thorgard ? Who shall say 
what the graceless tyrant may attempt ? At least, the 
joy of laying down my life in her service may yet be 
mine. That will be something. Aye, — everything. 
With my last breath I can dare to speak, and tell her of 
my love.” 

For a full minute he stood, gazing into vacancy, and 
then his thoughts took another turn. 

“I wonder where is Englehard. Surely, he will not 
seek his rest without conferring with me. He has 
something to tell me. I have seen it in his honest old 
face all the afternoon. — Ha !” 

As he thus ejaculated, he smote his breast, and turned 
pale. He had suddenly remembered that the old man 
had looked as strangely towards the princess as he had 
towards himself. 


Karl's Letter . 


21 


“ Has he seen ? Does he wish to warn me ? O ! dear 
old friend, fear not. Your master is not bereft of sense. 
Pity me ; but do not fear.” 

A moment later he was aroused by a knock on the 
door, and presently Englehard himself entered the 
room. 

“ Ah ! good Englehard, I am glad you have come. I 
have been thinking of you.” 

“ Aye, my master, and I have been thinking of you ; 
and. with good cause. Listen—” 

And thereupon the old man went on and told his 
story. He had commenced while standing, but the 
knight motioned him to a seat, which he willingly took. 
He told, first of the report which the host had given 
him of the character and doings of the Moravian mon- 
arch, Thorgard. This he did by repeating Rembert’s 
language, almost word for word. 

And then, when a few questions under that head had 
been asked and answered, he told of the two outriders 
— fold how they had seen the cavalcade as it emerged 
from the mountain pass ; how they had probably hung 
around until they had seen the last of the men-at-arms 
disappear ; and how, then, they had entered the court 
and questioned the groom. 

“ Unfortunately, Sir Winfred, the groom knew that 
the beautiful lady was the Princess of Bohemia, and so 
he told the riders. Before the morrow is two hours old 
Thorgard will know that the Princess Rowena is within 
the lines of his kingdom.” 

“Aye, and what then?” said the knight, speaking 
more lightly then he really felt. “ Do you fancy he 
wquld dare to offer open violence ?” 

“ Indeed, my master, I cannot say what such a man 
might dare. Be sure, if he shall think it would benefit 


22 


The Knight's Motto. 


him to make the princess captive, he will not hesitate to 
do it.” 

“ In such a case,” returned the youthful knight, a 
grim smile lurking around his full lips, and sparkling 
in his lustrous eyes, “ you and I might have a word to 
say-^eh ?” 

“ By my life ! I believe you,” the old man answered, 
with a look and a nod that spoke volumes. 

“ I am glad we know this thing,” Winfred said, after 
a little pause. “ When we set forth on the morrow we 
will be prepared. They shall not find us napping, at 
all events.” 

A silence fell at this point which lasted more than a 
minute. It was broken by Englehard, who had been 
thinking deeply, and who now looked up with a deal of 
trouble in his war-worn face. 

“ Sir Winfred, pardon me for the liberty I am about 
to take. I know it is none of my business, yet it gives 
me unrest. I think I could face my duty better if I 
knew.” 

Winfred had caught his breath, and now sat like one 
resigned to martyrdom, being fully assured that the 
wise, loving old man had resolved to warn him against 
his love for Rowena. But he was mistaken. Ah! little 
dreamed he then how greatly mistaken he was ! 

“Thus far,” pursued Englehard, with a slight tremor 
in voice, “ I have been content to guide as you have 
directed, without asking any questions. Can you not 
trust me now ?” 

“ Trust you ?” repeated Winfred, in surprise. “ What 
is there in which I would not trust you ?” 

“ Dear master, I will tell you what has troubled me. 
It is something which I cannot understand. I allude to 
the princess. She is of Bohemia. Why have we left 
her capital behind us ? Why are we taking her on to 


Karl's Letter. 23 


the court of Moravia — to the court where Thorgard is 
king ? Did the emperor know ? Did he mean it so ?” 

The knight was greatly relieved upon thus discover- 
ing that it was not his love for the beautiful princess 
that had so deeply exercised his faithful friend. He 
gazed for a time into the old trooper’s face in silence, 
thinking how he should reply. Very soon, however, he 
resolved that he would trust him with the whole story, 
or, at least, so far as he knew it ; but first he would bind 
him to secrecy. 

“ Englehard,” he said, in a low, guarded tone, having 
first cast a furtive glance around, “ I am myself some- 
what in the dark. Our great emperor — God bless and 
keep him ! — ” 

“ Amen !” fervently ejaculated the hearer. 

“ Did not give me full information. When I asked him 
for further directions, he answered that I should receive 
them in good season. He certainly gave me to under- 
stand that 1 should meet at Langwald those who would 
guide me.” 

“ Was there any possibility that you could have mis- 
understood him ?” the old man asked, earnestly. 

“None whatever. He told me, in so many words, 
that I should receive further direction at Langwald 
Castle.” 

“ Then,” said Englehard, with an assuring nod; “you 
may depend upon it. It will come* as sure as you live.” 

“Yet,” pursued the knight, “ you can well understand 
why I should be anxious. It is a great responsibility. 
But I will explain. First, however, I must exact from 
you a promise of absolute secrecy. What I may now 
tell you shall not be by you spoken to any person what- 
ever. ” 

Englehard gave the promise, readily and solemnly, 
and the knight continued : 


24 


The Knight's Motto. 


“ It is now fourteen years since Rowena’s father, the 
good Maximilian, died.” 

“ I knew him well,” interrupted the old man, warmly. 
“ A better king, a ruler more just, and a braver warrior 
never sat upon a throne.” 

So all say who knew him,” added Winfred. A 
slight pause, and he went on . “ The Princess Rowena 
was at that time five years of age. On his death-bed, 
Maximilian had expressed his will that the throne 
should be his daughter’s when she should have reached 
the age of nineteen, if, at that time, she should be found 
competent and worthy. He further desired that his 
prime minister, Thibault, should rule as regent during 
the minority of the princess. And, last, it was his wish 
that his child should be sent to the court of Charle- 
magne, there to be educated and trained, as the great 
emperor had assured him that he would cheerfully 
assume the guardianship of the princess. 

“ To all this Maximilian’s chief men agreed, at the 
same time promising that the wishes of their dying 
king should be their law. 

“ Well, from that time all has been done as was then 
proposed. Thibault has reigned as regent over 
Bohemia, and his administration has been a success ; 
the Princess Rowena has been educated under the eye 
of the emperor, and has become in every way worthy 
and well qualified to take the sceptre which her father 
laid down. But Charlemagne hesitates. He sees clouds 
in the horizon, which might breed a storm should the 
throne of Bohemia be filled by a young and tender 
maiden. He, of course, sees what you and I cannot see; 
yet he said enough to me to lead me to think that he 
distrusts Thorgard of Moravia ; perhaps, also, Cedric 
of Saxony.” 


Karl's Letter. 25 


“ He thinks they would seek to wrest the sceptre 
from her ?” said Englehard. 

“ They would certainly rob her of her rich domain if 
they could,” replied Winfred. “Exactly what our 
emperor proposes to do, I do not know. What he has 
directed me to do is this : Instead of leaving the prin- 
cess with her Bohemian subjects, I am to take her on 
to the court of Thorgard, retaining her under my 
immediate care, however, until satisfactory arrange- 
ments have been made, What those arrangements 
may be, I can only guess. One is, I fancy, that Thor- 
gard shall pledge himself to lifelong amity and friend- 
ship towards the princess, and further pledge himself to 
assist her in maintaining her power and authority as 
queen. I have letters for him from the emperor, and I 
think such is the burden of their contents. 

“ Yet, my dear old friend, something is lacking. I 
am not at rest. The emperor certainly gave me to 
believe that I should receive further and more direct 
intelligence before I came in contact with the King of 
Moravia.” 

“ Can you tell me the character of the intelligence 
you have looked for ?” asked the old guide, with a 
deep meaning in his look. 

“ I know not why I should hesitate to tell you. As I 
am now situated, I am somewhat in doubt with regard 
to the authority I possess. Remember, good Engle- 
hard, it is the Princess — really Queen — of Bohemia 
whom I have in charge. I am taking her to the court 
of a king. Our imperial master instructed me that I 
should retain my charge until I had been further 
directed. Now, who is to direct me ? What authority 
can I exercise against the will of Thorgard ? Is it not 
enough to perplex any one ?” 

The stout old trooper, instead of answering his mas- 


26 


The Knight's Motto. 


ter’s interrogatory, arose from his seat, and began to 
pace to and fro across the room. Half a dozen times 
had he made the beat, like a sentinel on post, when he 
stopped near the sconce holding the two lighted tapers 
that illumined the apartment. Here he stood perhaps 
a minute, in deep thought. Then, without a word, he 
removed his jerkin of buff leather, thus exposing a vest 
of cotton stuff beneath. This vest he also removed, 
and with his dagger proceeded to rip open one of its 
seams, ere long setting free a sealed packet, with an 
envelope of parchment. When he had resumed the 
articles of clothing which he had put off, he took the 
packet in his hand and approached the knight. 

. i 1 Sir Winfred,” he said, with wondrous depth and 
meaning in his tone, “ perhaps I have here the message 
you have so anxiously looked for. Before I yield it up, 
let me explain. On the eve of our setting forth upon 
our present mission, the great emperor called me to a 
private interview. After giving me certain instructions 
for my own guidance, he placed in my hand this packet, 
and bade me to keep it to myself until we had crossed 
the Moravian frontier. Beyond that I was to exercise 
my own judgment. If certain signs should be manifest 
to me, I was to deliver the packet to you. I have been 
watchful, and I am satisfied that the delivery may be 
made. Should I be mistaken, however, I think no harm 
will have been done.” Thus speaking, he gave the 
packet into the knight’s hand, and then, before the lat- 
ter could speak, he had turned and left the room. 

Sir Winfred looked first upon the missive that had so 
strangely and unexpectedly come to him, and then gazed 
after the retiring trooper, but too late to arrest his steps. 
It was apparently a letter, far from thick ; its surface 
not greater than his hand would cover. The envelope 
was of fine parchment, and on the back was the seal of 


Karl's Letter. 


2 7 


the emperor. It was superscribed in the bold, clear 
hand of the imperial scribe to himself. 

Few men had ever seen the hand of Sir Winfred 
tremble, but it trembled now as he broke the seal of his 
master’s letter. Within he found a sheet of vellum, 
neatly folded, bearing a dozen or more closely-written 
lines, in Charlemagne’s own strong, homely hand. And 
this was what he read : 

“ To Winfred, our Trusty and Well-beloved Knight and 
Paladin : It hath been long our desire — a desire very 
near to our heart — that thou shouldst wed with Rowena, 
Princess of Bohemia. Yet would we not force thee 
against thine own inclination ; nor would we do violence 
to the feelings of the princess herself. By the time this 
shall reach thy hand thou wilt have discerned whether 
or not the arrangement will please thee. If it shall 
meet thy wishes, thou art at liberty to win the love of 
the princess if thou canst. And if she doth freely yield 
herself to thee, thou mayest from that moment consider 
thyself her guardian and champion. My instructions to 
Thorgard will command him to have respect for the 
authority thus conferred upon thee. Yet a little longer 
do we claim guardianship over thee, but in so far as the 
Princess Rowena is concerned* we freely and fully trans- 
fer, with her consent, the charge of her person to thyself. 

“ May the One Living and True God guide and bless 
thee ! Karl.” 

The great Karl was more used to the sword and lance 
than to the pen. He wrote correctly, but blindly . His 
name was signed in characters that might have been 
distinguished across the room, but the body of the mis- 
sive was cramped and crowded, as though written with 
a dagger’s point. However, the youth had had occasion 


28 


The Knight' s Motto. 


to decipher the imperial hieroglyphics before, and he 
was not long in making himself master of the instru- 
ment. 

But — could it be real ? Could he give it credence ? 
Not until he had stood by the sconce and read it a third 
time did he suffer himself to give it full faith. And yet 
now that his eyes were opened, he could call to mind a 
hundred things in his intercourse with Charlemagne — 
words spoken, significant glances and mysterious hints 
— which could have meant nothing less than that which 
had here been written. 

He called to mind, also, a certain time when his 
mother had found him gazing sorrowfully upon the 
princess, and had drawn from him a confession that the 
greatest good earth held in store was not for him. 
Then the dear mother had bent and kissed him, and had 
whispered into his ear: “Sorrow not, my son. Lay 
away in thy heart no lamentation. Be brave, be true 
and be patient, and the greatest good of earth may be 
thine.” 

He remembered every word and every tone. His 
mother must thus have known the emperor’s purpose. 

He pressed the eloquent parchment to his lips again 
and again. Three times had he kissed the blessed mis- 
sive when the thought for the first time presented 
itself : “ What will the princess say ?” He had told 

himself that she surely loved him ; but now, with the 
need of her love so pressing, his assurance in a measure 
failed him. 

“ At all events,” he cried, as the thought came closely 
home to him* “ I am now at liberty to speak. If she 
loves me she will not hesitate to confess it.” 

He refolded the letter and placed it in his bosom. 
Then he took his heavy sword from a table near at hand 
and drew it from its scabbard ; and having set it up 


Karl's Letter . 


2 9 


before him, he knelt down before the passion-cross of its 
hilt and swore a solemn oath : 

“ Rowena ! Rowena ! — come weal, or come woe, 
while life and sense are mine I will serve thee with all 
my strength, and with all my faith ; and as I am true to 
thee, so may heaven be to me in the hour of my utmost' 
need ! M 

Half an hour later, having assured himself that his 
men-at-arms were where they should be, that his horses 
were well cared for, and that the guard at the door of 
the princess was reliable, Sir Winfred sought his rest. 
He had asked himself, when — when should he venture 
to speak with Rowena ? Before his head had pressed 
the pillow he had resolved that it should be on the first 
favorable opportunity. Some time on the morrow— per- 
haps at their noontide stop, perhaps on the road— the 
opportunity would offer itself. At all events, when it 
came he would seize it. 

Naturally, with so wondrous a burden on his mind 
the youthful knight did not readily sleep, the result of 
which was, that when sleep finally came, tired nature 
claiming its rest, it held him in its spell until his esquire 
was obliged to call him to breakfast. His first impulse, 
when he found the sun two hours above the horizon, and 
his troop ready for the saddle, was to chide the attend- 
ant who had suffered him thus to oversleep; but 
Englehard, coming up at the moment, and acknowledg- 
ing that it had been by his order that he had been 
allowed to gain needed rest, he forgot his chagrin, and 
was willing to be greatful for the favor. 

One blessing, however, was his, notwithstanding the 
lateness of the hour — a blessing which, at that particu- 
lar time, was to him doubly blessed : The Princess 
Rowena, though her matin meal had been some time in 
readiness, had refused to eat until her brave knight could 


30 


The Knight's Motto. 


keep her company ; and she came in person to conduct 
him to the board. 

Never, she told her maid later on, had she seen the 
young paladin look so handsome and so regal in his gal- 
lant bearing. To her, something in his face seemed to 
.have transfigured him. Her own face shone with a 
new loveliness. Something whispered to her, more 
effectually than ever before, that she was beloved. And 
perhaps the knight, as he caught the wondrous beaming 
of her love-lit eyes, read the story aright. But he could 
not speak then. Other ears were near. 

When they were ready for the start, the princess 
noticed that Sir Winfred, in place of the hauberk of 
chain mail which he usually wore, had donned his full 
armor of plate, leaving off only his helmet, which his 
esquire had in charge. His horse was likewise armored ; 
and old Englehard was armed in like manner. 

“ What does it mean ?" she asked. Do yoii fear an 
enemy ?" 

And then he told her of the visitation of the previous 
evening. 

“ I know not," he added, “ what may happen ; but, be 
ye assured, dear lady, I am prepared for the worst. Let 
me hope that fear will not cause you unrest." 

She looked up, with her soul in her eyes, her lovely 
face lighted by a bright smile, and made answer : 

“ Fear and I are strangers, Sir Winfred, while thou 
art by my side." 

He could only thank her with a look. He dared not 
trust himself then to speak. 



CHAPTER III. 

THE LOVERS’ COMPACT — A SECRET. 

For a considerable distance after leaving Zwittau the 
cavalcade moved through a beautiful stretch of country, 
and the princess chose the saddle, with a place by Sir 
Winfred's side. By and by the subject of the Moravian 
monarch came up for discussion, and Englehard was 
called upon to join them. Both he and the knight had 
meant to keep from the gentle lady, as long as possible, 
the true character of Thorgard ; but she had demanded 
to know, and they could not refuse her. 

“ And why, why has our good emperor sent me to 
such a man ?” she cried, when the king’s character had 
been fully laid bare to her understanding. “ Can you 
explain, Sir Winfred ?” 

“ In truth, dear lady, I cannot. I am free to confess 
that, to me, there is a mystery in the whole thing.” 

“ I do not like to question the doings of my imperial 
guardian,” the princess said, with deep feeling, “ but I 
cannot help questioning this. Why was I not allowed 
to see my father’s people— my people now — while we 
were so near to the capital ?” 

“ I explained that at the time as well as I could. I 
can add nothing to it.” 

“ I can well conceive,” Rowena went on, speaking 
calmly, but resolutely, “how and why the emperor 

[31] 


32 


The Knight's Motto. 


might fear that the sceptre of Bohemia would not be 
entirely safe in my hands. You told me, if I remember 
rightly, that he feared both Thorgard of Moravia and 
Cedric of Saxony ?” 

“Yes.” 

“ And now I am sent to the court of the greater vil- 
lain of the two. Sir Winfred, what explanation can you 
offer V 

The knight was silent. She then turned to the old 
guide. 

“ Good Englehard, something is known to you. Will 
you not explain ?” 

The old man was evidently troubled. It was hard to 
refuse the pleading of the beautiful princess ; harder 
still was it to speak an untruth. One of the two he 
must do or be silent. At length he said very gently : 

“ Noble lady, what would you say , of a man who 
knowingly and willingly broke his faith ?” 

“ I should say he was not to be trusted. * 

“ Well,” the old trooper resumed, a quiet smile break- 
ing amidst the seams and scars of his war-worn face, 
“ 1 find myself in a corner, where three ways out are 
offered me. I can tell a falsehood, and, perhaps, satisfy 
you. I can tell you the whole truth, and thus break- 
faith with another; and that other, the emperor. Or I can 
take the remaining course of throwing myself on your 
mercy. Should I tell you that I had no idea of the 
emperor’s meaning — his purpose in thus sending you to 
the court of Moravia in Sir Winfred’s, company — I 
should tell you falsely. But mark you this : Our 
great Karl trusted me because he could not help him- 
self. The knowledge was already mine. All he did 
was to pledge me to secrecy. You will know all in 
good time, both of you ; and when the knowledge is 
yours, you will not blame me because I was obliged to 


The Lovers’ Compact. 33 


hold my tongue at a time when yon were tortured by 
curiosity.” 

“ No, no, Englehard ! Call it not curiosity. But 
never mind. I will press you no more ; and I know I 
may speak for Sir Winfred. If I can rest content, I am 
sure he will do likewise.” 

“ Aye,” added the gallant knight, with the last 
shadow gone from his face, “ and let us be thankful for 
the information our good old friend has given us. 
Since he knows why we are sent into Moravia, I am 
content. It proves to us that the emperor had a pur- 
pose — doubtless a wise one — ” 

“When you know it,” broke in Englehard, “ you will 
freely acknowledge that he could have done nothing 
else.” 

“ Good !” exclaimed Winfred. 

And the princess echoed his exclamation, and shortly 
thereafter, as they entered upon a stretch of open coun- 
try, on which the heat of the sun fell with considerable 
force, she gave up the saddle, and, with her maid, took 
her seat in her palanquin. 

Shortly before noon they enterted a dense forest, 
wherein, when the hour for rest and refreshment had 
arrived, they camped in a delightful vale, through 
which flowed a brooklet as clear as crystal, and sweet 
and cool. When the noontide meal had been eaten, Sir 
Winfred asked the princess if she would walk a little 
way with him. He said he had something to communi- 
cate which was to him of importance. 

With a glad look in her beautiful face, she quickly 
arose to her feet, and took his arm ; and without further 
remark they walked away from the camp, taking their 
course back by the path in which they had come. No 
word was spoken until they had gained a point beyond 
the sight of their companions, and beyond their hear- 


34 


The Knight' s Motto. 


mg ; then Winfred stopped, beneath the shade of a 
giant oak, and took the lady’s right hand. A new light 
flamed in her eyes as she yielded it, and a rich, warm 
flush suffused her face. 

“ Dear princess !” the knight said, in a voice scarcely 
raised above a whisper, yet of wondrous depth and 
power, “ that which I have to say need not consume 
many words. I feel that between you and me plain 
speaking will be best. Surely, we know each other 
perfectly. We have been children together, and mates 
together in later years. Much of our joy we have held 
in common — from the same source — and never, I 
believe, has one of ns sorrowed that the other did not 
share it. How shall it be in the time to come ? Row- 
ena, suppose it could be known to us that the emperor 
would smile upon our union, do you think you could 
give me the right to take this fair hand as my own — to 
guard and protect, to love and cherish — through life ?” 

For a few seconds she returned his ardent gaze with- 
out speaking. She had no thought, however, of hiding 
a single feeling of her heart. She only wished to know 
what were his feelings. As soon as she could find 
words, she reached her free hand up to his shoulder, and 
said, with a slight tremor of voice : 

“ Winfred, tell me plainly what you seek. I agree 
with you that few words are necessary.” 

“ Rowena, I seek yourself !” 

“ With the emperor’s permission ?” 

“ Yes.” 

“ Then I am yours. I think you love me, Winfred.” 

“ Love you ! O, when have I not loved you ? Rowena 
—listen !” 

He took her to his bosom, and as her head found its 
pillow on plates of burnished steel, they seemed to her 
like softest down. 


The Lovers Compact. 


35 


“ Rowena !” he went on, gazing down into her 
upraised eyes, “last evening, after I had seen you 
safely to your chamber, I was in despair. I had 
allowed myself to believe that you loved me — ” 

“Ah !” she interrupted, smiling through her happy 
tears. “ I know when you thought so. It was when 
you had caught me back from the brink of that awful 
danger. Yes ; my love burst forth then in spite of me.” 

“ I will confess, dear princess, that I had never 
allowed myself to fully believe in your love forme until 
that moment, though I had thought it not impossible. 
However, I was sure of it then ; and,.£S I have told you, 
I was in despair. My love for you, O, Rowena, had 
become a part of my very life. When I thought of 
myself in the future separated from you I was in agony. 
The desire of life went from me. But why tell of that ? 
No words of mine can set forth the love that had pos- 
sessed my heart. What should I do ? What could I do ? 
Darling, at this point a great fear overwhelmed me. 
Have you thought that Englehard, of late, has been 
unusually watchful of our intercourse ?” 

“ No,” said the princess, thoughtfully. “ He is always 
watchful of yourself. Really, Winfred, I think a seri- 
ous accident to you, through any inattention of his, 
would kill him.” 

“ Bless his true heart ! I know he loves me. But, as 
I was saying, the thought of his close watching occur- 
red to me, and I fancied he had detected my love, and 
sought opportunity to warn me. Ah ! when I remem- 
bered what those have suffered who have gone con- 
trary to the emperor’s wishes in. this respect, you can 
think what feelings were mine ; and also how I thought 
dear old Englehard might fear for me. I was torturing 
myself with these reflections when the man himself 
appeared before me, He had come to tell me of the 


36 The Knight' s Motto . 


presence of Thorgard’s outriders. Before he left me 
he gave into my hand this packet. He said he had 
been commanded by the emperor not to give it to me 
until we had entered within the Moravian domain. 
After that, if he should be assured that we truly loved 
one another, he might deliver it. Read it, Rowena, 
and judge for yourself if I have the right to speak to 
you of love.” 

She took the missive and opened it. She was used to 
the emperor’s hand, having often acted as his confiden- 
tial correspondent, and she mastered the hieroglyph 
more quickly than the knight had none. When she had 
read it she carried it to her lips, then refolded it and 
gave it back to she man whom she dared now to 
acknowledge as her lover. 

a Winfred,” she said, the celestial love-light of her 
radiant eyes revealing the truth of her words, “ I am 
very happy. Dear love, I cannot tell you when I 
gave you my heart. I only know that it has been 
entirely your own for a long, long time.” At this 
point she bent her head for a moment, gently putting 
her lover from her as he offered again to take her in 
his ardent embrace. Presently she looked up, and 
with a new light sparkling through the happy mois- 
ture, she added : 

“ Perhaps I ought to confess that I have not suffered 
exactly as you have suffered. If I could have at any 
moment doubted your affection for me I should have 
been miserable enough ; but, though you may think 
me vain in the assurance, the assurance has neverthe- 
less been mine — I cannot tell how long — that your 
heart had come to me. I will not try to tell you of 
the happiness it gave me. Your mother discovered 
my secret ; and once, when I had told her how heavily 
the fear of the emperor’s displeasure weighed upon 


The Lovers Compact . 


37 


me, she took me to her bosom and whispered into my 
ear that I need fear no more. ‘ Dear child,’ she said to 
me— I can call to mind her exact words — 1 put away 
your fear. I may tell you this, but you must not 
repeat it : Should my son ever ask for your hand, 
our good Karl will not refuse him.’ Of course, I may 
tell you now. Ah ! it made my life very bright, Win- 
fred. I knew she would not have so spoken lightly. 
She must have had authority. At all events, I 
believed her, and be sure I blessed her.” 

Once more the happy lover pressed the dear one to 
his bosom, and having sealed their vows with a kiss, they 
took their way back to the camp, where they found the 
troop ready for the start. 

Before mounting, however, Sir Winfred drew Engle- 
hard aside, having determined to inform him at once of 
the new relations existing between himself and the 
princess. Not only did he feel that the good old friend 
had a right to know, but, further than that, the knowl- 
edge might enable him to serve them in case of need. 
The feelings of the youthful paladin towards this staunch 
old henchman were of a curiously complex kind. There 
were times when Englehard seemed really a father to 
him. An own father could not have been more devoted, 
more loving, or more eager for his welfare ; nor could 
any father have been more proud of a son than was this 
faithful servitor of himself. Every honor he had won, 
and every mark of royal favor bestowed, seemed to 
touch Englehard as deeply and happily as it touched 
him. 

Moreover, the old man had been in many things his 
teacher and guide, and somewhat his guardian. And 
yet, after all, he was but a servant ; and of his state of 
servitude, knowing who was his master, he was proud. 
Often in their intercourse the young man addressed his 


38 


The Knight's Motto . 


aged servant as he might have addressed a parent whom 
he loved and revered, but never — never in his remem- 
brance — had he spoken to the old man a harsh or unkind 
word ; and he meant never to speak impatiently. 

“ Good Englehard,” said our hero, when they had 
reached a point sufficiently removed from other ears, 
“ I have a bit of information for you which I think will 
give you pleasure. Did you know the purport of the 
missive from the emperor which you gave into my hand 
last evening ?” 

“ No,” answered the old man shaking his head, “ I did 
not know ; but I think I was able to give a close guess.” 

“You thought it related — to whom beside myself ?” 

“ To the princess.” 

“ You were right. Ah ! Englehard, it was a blessed 
epistle ; and I bless the hand that brought it to me, as 
I bless the hand that wrote it. Dear old friend,” the 
youth cried, taking the other’s hand as he spoke, “ I 
wished that you should know ; and Rowena wished it, 
too. The emperor has given me permission to claim 
the hand of the princess if I can win her heart. Her 
heart is all mine own, and she gladly gives her hand to 
go with it. Am I not blessed ?” 

Tears started from the old man’s eyes, and his lip 
quivered as he responded, from the very depths of his 
heart : 

“ Sir Winfred, I shall not try to tell you how fondly I 
have loved you since you were born, nor what joy it has 
given me to serve you. Now, I can say, my love is 
deepened and refined, and my joy is enhanced. The 
dear princess is given me now to love as never before. 
As she is yours, so she becomes mine, I know you will 
be true and loyal ; and you, Winfred, know that I will 
be the same. It only remains for me to renew my 


The Lovers Compact. 


39 


pledge of fealty, and to wish you all the joy and happi- 
ness earth and heaven can give.” 

The knight thanked him as best he could, and without 
further remark, they turned their steps back towards 
the camp, and were shortly thereafter once more in 
motion. 

The distance from Zwittau to Olmutz was little^ 
more than forty miles. Five-and-twenty miles Engle- 
hard had planned they would make on that day, bring- 
ing them to the little town and village of Oberheim, 
where, in other years, there had been one of the best 
kept inns in the country. And his purpose for the day 
was easily accomplished. The last rays of the set- 
ting sun were tipping with gold the tops of the dark 
firs, when, on reaching the summit of a gentle emi- 
nence, on which stood an old mill of gray stone, its 
giant arms slowly revolving under the influence of a 
light breeze, they looked down upon a peaceful hamlet 
in the vale below, which the guide told them was Ober- 
heim. 

The inn was found neat and tidy; and the old troop- 
er’s heart gave a gladsome bound as he recognized in 
the person of the fat old- landlord the same Grimaldo 
whom he had known and trusted when they both were 
younger, and less used to the vanities and deceits of a 
cold and heartless world — at least, cold and heartless 
those found it who lived within the scope of Thorgard's 
influence. 

At first the landlord failed to recognize the man who 
hailed him so cheerily ; but his memory quickly came 
to his aid, and his heart opened wide. The best his poor 
house could afford should be forthcoming, and he would 
do all in his power to make his guests comfortable. Fie 
saw in the youthful leader a man of mark, but he asked 
no questions, being well assured that his old friend 


40 


The Knight's Motto . 


would tell him all that it could profit him to know. His 
virtue of patience was well rewarded ; for before the 
evening meal had been served Grimaldo knew that the 
Princess of Bohemia was beneath his roof. 

He promised, however, that he would not mention 
the fact to another. 

As soon as he could find opportunity, Englehard 
asked the host if any officers or outriders of the king 
had passed his house during the night last past. 

“ Aye,” the publican answered, quickly, and with not 
the best of feelings. “ At midnight I was called up by 
a terrific pounding on my door, and on going down I 
found two of the most graceless rascals that curse the 
realm demanding wine and food for themselves and 
corn for their horses. I dared not refuse them. They 
took what they wanted, and when I asked for pay they 
told me to send my account to the king.” 

“ Did you know them ?” 

“ Know them ? To my sorrow, yes. They were 
Bruno and Hartrich — two men who have brought more 
sorrow to once happy homes than could come from a 
great battle. Aye, the sorrow that comes of death may 
find relief in Christian consolation, but the sorrow which 
those fiends incarnate bring can find no relief on earth 
nor rest in heaven. O ! why do such men live ?” 

“ Their day of reckoning will come, good Grimaldo, 
be you sure of that. But tell me, did they speak of 
their business while here ?” 

“ Only to curse and swear at my laziness, and to tell 
of their haste to reach the capital. They had ridden 
from Zwittau without stopping.” 

The old guide asked no more concerning those out- 
riders ; but later in the evening, over a bowl of spiced 
wine he sat for an hour and more, listening to the host’s 
story of their wicked king and his terrible doings. And 


The Lovers Compact. 


4i 


there was no help for it, he said. Thorgard had the 
army under his will ; the chief officers were of his own 
making ; many of them were drunken, licentious men, 
and a disgrace to the country. 

“ The only thing that holds the army together,” he 
added, “ is the entire liberty to plunder which the king 
gives when there is opportunity. Does not Charlemagne 
know? We who have suffered so much and so long 
have found something of comfort in the hope that the 
great emperor would come and make right the stupen- 
dous wrong. Ah ! think how happy we were, and how 
proud of our country, in the time of Hildebert. God 
bless his memory ! say I.” 

“ Amen ! and Amen ! say I,” uttered Englehard, from 
the very depths of his heart. 

Grimaldo cast a furtive glance around ; then drew 
nearer to his guest and laid a hand upon his arm. 

“ Englehard,” he said, in a low, quivering whisper, 
you were in the service of Hildebert when he came to 
his untimely death. Did you ever think — did you ever 
have reason to believe that — ” 

“ Hush !” said the trooper, as the other hesitated. He 
had turned pale, and his whole frame shook. “ Not a 
word more of that to-night. But — You will keep it 
sacredly if I tell you ?” 

‘‘I swear it, Englehard. You know me, I think well 
enough to trust me.” 

“ And may we call upon you in case of need ?” 

“ Is it to avenge the death of Hildebert ?” 

“ Yes.” 

“ Call upon me for all I have, and for all I can do, 
even to the giving of my life, if need be !” 

“ Enough. I will trust you. Bend your ear.” 

Englehard placed his lips close, and whispered a few 
hurried words. Grimaldo heard, and sprang to his feet. 


42 


The Knight's Motto. 


“ Englehard ! Is it true what you have told me ?” 

As true as heaven !” 

“ Then heaven be praised ! From this hour you will 
know where to find me if I am wanted. And you ,w T ill 
find others — hundreds — thousands — of them if you can 
only reach them.” 


CHAPTER IV. 

OUR HERO IS PUZZLED AN ALARM. 

While Englehard and his host were engaged in their 
private confab, Sir Winfred and Rowena were closeted 
' together in a well-furnished apartment which had been 
given to their especial use. It was to them a season of 
joy and blessing such as they had never before experi- 
enced. Across the picture of the future, as it lay in 
Rowena’s thoughts, came no cloud — no doubt of any 
kind. Nor did Winfred doubt ; yet, on one point he 
was not entirely at rest. 

Why had the emperor, so stern and unrelenting in his 
holding to the proprieties of rank and blood, thus allowed 
him, a nameless adventurer, to mate with one of the 
proudest princesses in Christendom ? For, truly, look 
at it as he would, he could not deem himself else than 
nameless, and unknown to the rank of birth. All that 
he was, and all that he possessed, he owed to his own 
efforts, and the favor of his mighty sovereign. 

“I cannot understand it,” he said, in speaking with 
Rowena on the subject. “ I have been told that my 
father was a brave and gallant knight, and that he 
enjoyed the confidence of Charlemagne ; but that he 


0717 ' Hero is Puzzled. 


43 


was noble I cannot believe. If lie had been I should 
have borne a different device and motto on my shield.” 

And so he went on, for a considerable time, not only 
borrowing trouble from his doubts, but fearing name- 
less trials in the future. At length the princess, when 
she would hear no more, determined to put a stop, at 
once and forever, to his foolish imaginings. She had 
firm faith in the emperor, and was well assured that the 
husband he had selected for her was in every way 
worthy of the position. For herself she could have 
given to the brave and gallant youth her hand and her 
heart without a question beyond what her own knowl- 
edge of him could answer. But since Charlemagne had 
given his consent to their union, she believed that his 
rank was noble. Aye, as she looked into his face, and 
surveyed his magnificent proportions, she saw nobility 
and gentle birth stamped on every lineament. 

“ Winfred, — dear Winfred !” she said, with tears in 
her eyes, and weeping in her voice, “ I can sympathize 
with you, if your feelings are such as they appear to be. 
You fear that in time to come men will say you 
inherited greatness from your wife. They will look 
upon you as the fortunate husband of the Princess 
Rowena. Alas ! poor Rowena ! — Hush ! Hear me to 
the end. You do certainly fear this. If you do not, 
your words sadly belie you. Now, Winfred, before it is 
too late, you have opportunity to draw back. Though 
it will rend my heart — though it may, perchance, break 
it, — I would much rather you should stop where you 
are, than go forward into a life that appears to hold 
in store so much of doubt and anxiety.” 

“ Rowena I” He started back, and looked into her 
face like one suddenly palsied. “ Stop where I am ! 
Do you mean — Oh ! no ! no !— you do not mean it.” 

“ I mean, dear love — my own brave Winfred ! — let me 


44 


The Knight's Motto . 


call you so for this once — I mean that you shall not 
claim my hand if you have one doubt — one fear — in the 
result.” 

“ Doubt ? Fear ? What ? in making you my wife ? 
O ! my love, my darling — ” 

“ Stop ! Stop !” she said firmly — though it cost her 
a tremendous effort, — at the same time putting 
forth her hand to keep him off. “ Tell me you have no 
doubt — no fear, and that you will torture yourself no 
more. O ! Winfred ! do you doubt our noble Karl ? 
Would he have given my hand to you if he had not 
known it to be just and proper ? As true as we live, in 
the years to come I shall borrow honor and renown 
from my gallant husband, — not he from me. Tell me, 
Winfred, that you will follow these dark fancies no 
further.” 

Then she allowed him to take her to his bosom ; and 
holding her there, he gave his promise that he would 
never offend her ear again with doubts which, when he 
came to reflect more .seriously, he was willing to 
acknowledge were unworthy of him. 

And then followed an hour of such pure and hallowed 
rapture as only young lovers, in the bright morning of 
life, may know. 

On the following morning Sir Winfred was aroused 
at an early hour by an unusual stir and bustle in the 
rooms below. Doors were opened and closed ; people 
traversed to and fro ; messengers seemed to be coming 
and going without ; and ever and anon the deep voice of 
the landlord was heard calling sharply upon his ser- 
vants. He had arisen, and was upon the point of awak- 
ing his esquire, who slept on a low truckle-bed in 
another part of the chamber, when his door was opened 
by Englehard, and, at the same momant, Sewald, the 
esquire, started up in wild affright, having been aroused 


Our Hero is Puzzled ’ 


45 


from a horrible incubus. His first movement upon 
seeing two men standing before him, was to grasp his 
sword, which he always kept by his side, and swing it 
above his head. 

“ Ha ! Villains ! I have ye now ! Back ! Back ! 
by the host ! — ” 

The poor fellow, just half awake, had gone thus 
far in his sleep-waking frenzy of alarm, when an 
uproarious burst of laughter from Englehard brought 
him to his senses, and he shrank back, the picture of 
chagrin and distress. 

“ Tell me, good master,” said the old trooper, when 
he had got over his fit of laughter, “ has the noise 
below disturbed you ? — I can see for myself that it has 
put strange notions into Sewald’s head.” 

“ In truth, Englehard,” the knight replied, with a 
smile, “ I think it did break my slumber ; but if nothing 
hath happened amiss it does not matter. I had slept 
long enough. You may tell me, if you will, what has 
transpired. What is the meaning of this unusual 
tramping to and fro which I have heard ?” 

The old man, in answer, only told him half the truth. 
He said the host was making an effort to do honor to 
the princess, never telling him that for himself was 
Grimaldo putting forth his utmost endeavors in the way 
of providing a breakfast fit for a king. 

However, the knight took it in good faith, and was 
well pleased that his beautiful princess should be thus 
honored. 

Meantime Sewald had recovered his senses, and as 
soon as he could find opportunity he told the terrible 
dream from which he had been so suddenly aroused. 
It was of an ambush in a dense forest, and an attempt 
by a band of heavily armed men to carry off the 
princess. He had been awakened just as a powerful 


46 The Knight's Motto. 


ruffian had seized her by the arm for the purpose of 
dragging her from her saddle. 

“ Well, well, good Sewald,” said Sir Winfred, gently 
patting him on the shoulder as he spoke, “ let us be 
thankful it was only a dream.” 

But the esquire did not appear to be entirely satis- 
fied. He made no further remark on the subject, but 
it was plainly to be seen that the dream gave him 
trouble. He was not superstitious — at least not more 
so than were the majority of people of the period — but 
there had been something in his vision so real — it had 
all been so like life, with living actors in the scene — 
that he could not regard it as else than a warning of 
danger to come. 

When at length Sir Winfred had conducted the 
princess to the breakfast-room, he could no longer 
wonder that there had been noise in the house. The 
apartment resembled a garden bower. The walls and 
the ceiling were hung with vines and boughs of ever- 
green, with a profuse intermingling of every sort of 
flower and blossom that garden, field and forest could 
yield. 

The princess, as her eyes swept the pleasant scene, 
cried out in childish delight. She clapped her hands, 
and laughed in her happiness. Then she turned to the 
rotund host, who stood near the head of the tables, and 
sweetly thanked him for the pleasure he had given her. 

Grimaldo’s face shone like a full moon. He was 
more than repaid for all the trouble he had taken upon 
himself. 

But if the things appealing only to the outer sense 
were to be praised, what should be said of the feast 
that had been prepared for the inner man ? The board 
fairly groaned beneath the weight of the viands that 
had been gathered together. More than half the hens 


Our Hero is Puzzled. 


4 7 


owned in the village had contributed to that breakfast ; 
and dairies and larders outside had been visited for 
their contributions to the feast. 

One thing, as the meal was in process of consumption, 
puzzled our hero not a little. He had expected that the 
host would bestow his chief attention upon the beautiful 
princess ; but it was not so. The good man certainly 
looked upon the lady with admiration, and did his best 
to please her ; but it was upon himself that he bestowed 
his chief care. His wife, a buxom matron, still fresh 
and fair, though past the middle age, waited mostly 
upon Rowena, leaving the publican himself to care for 
the knight ; and if the knight had been the veritable 
Emperor of the West he could not have received more 
kind attention or greater honor, than the admiring 
landlord freely and proudly bestowed upon him. 

“ Englehard,” said Winfred, when he had caught the 
old man alone, after they had left the breakfast table, 
“ what story have you been telling our good host con- 
cerning me ?” 

The trooper looked like a man innocently surprised. 

“ Telling of you ? What do you mean, Sir Winfred ? 
I do not understand.” 

“ Look ye, old friend,” the youth continued, gazing 
steadily into his eyes, “ let us have no prevarication. 
Somebody has told this landlord something about me. 
He stared at me as though I were a strange animal, the 
like of which he never before had seen. And his 
marked efforts to do me honor. At first I thought it a 
cringing servility ; but I quickly put that thought away. 
There was nothing cringing or servile about him. 
Really, Englehard, if I had been Charlemagne himself 
the man could not have given me more favor and 
attention. Can you explain it ?” 

“ Dear master, the thing is very simple. Old Grim- 


48 


The Knight's Motto. 


aldo is a great worshipper of valor. He looks upon a 
brave and gallant knight as next to a king ; and last 
evening, when I had told him that you were one of 
Charlemagne’s paladins he fairly leaped from his seat 
in his wonder and admiration. I told him not a word 
save of simple truth, and, I assure you, I did not flatter 
you. Sir Winfred, that is true !” 

“ I cannot doubt you, my faithful old friend. Yet,” 
the knight added, with another searching look into the 
honest face before him, “ there is something which I do 
not understand. Here I am, within half a day’s journey 
of my destination, and of my mission I know nothing — 
literally nothing. And yet, Englehard, more than once 
while I was at the breakfast table, it appeared to me 
that our host knew more than I did. He certainly 
wished me success. What did he mean by that ? And 
further : After I had arisen from the board he spoke to 
me, in a whisper, words to this effect : In the hour 
when it should be needful for my friends to declare 
themselves, I might depend upon a goodly host. ‘ And,’ 
he added, speaking with a marvellous force and energy, 
‘you shall find them true and devoted — every one!’ 
Does he imagine that I am to lead a crusade against 
the wicked King of Moravia ? Is that what he means ? 
Speak ! Englehard, you know more of this matter than 
you have told me. Can you not — will you not — speak to 
me a word of satisfying reply ?” 

The faithful, devoted old servant was in distress, as 
the ^working of his honest face clearly revealed. He 
turned away, and walked slowly across the room ; and 
when he came back his countenance had become com- 
paratively settled. The look of unrest was gone, and 
in its place had come an expression such as one might 
wear who had authority. 

“ My dear Winfred,” he said, with a new ring in his 


Our Hero is Puzzled. 


49 


deep, sonorous voice, “ the time has come when you 
must know something of the work before you. The 
reason why you have been kept in ignorance was this : 
It had remained for me to discover the exact situation 
of affairs in Moravia. You are aware that I was a 
trusted attendant upon the former king — Hildebert the 
Good. Most of the chief courtiers and officers of the 
present king are known to me. It only remained for 
me to learn the disposition of the people, and to form 
my judgment with regard to the spirit with which they 
would rally around the banner of the brave chieftain 
who should offer to break the yoke that had so long 
galled and degraded them. I had thought that I must 
reach Olmutz before I could come to a correct under- 
standing ; but I have already learned enough. Our 
good host is one of the clearest-headed men I know, and 
he is honest and true. He has enlightened me. 

“ Sir Winfred, you are the chieftain for the work of 
righting this great wrong. The emperor planned that 
you should receive light in his castle of Langwald, 
whither we are bound. We shall reach that place, if no 
accident befalls us, by the time the sun of this day is an 
hour beyond its meridian height ; and there will be 
placed in your hands an inclosure from the emperor 
containing all that you will need to know. Will you 
rest satisfied until that time ?” 

The youthful paladin was too deeply moved — his feel- 
ings too deeply stirred — to admit of his answering 
promptly. Wondrous events were crowding thickly 
upon him. Thus far in life his duty had been plain 
before him, and he had been left to pursue it according 
to the dictates of his own judgment ; but now he felt 
himself to be as one groping in the dark — not a free 
agent, but acted upon by others. Yesterday the most 
momentous event in the lifetime of any man had come 


50 


The Knight's Motto . 


all unexpectedly to him. The hand of the most beauti- 
ful princess of Christendom, as he believed her to be, 
had become his own, and that, too, in the hour when he 
had told himself that such a thing could never be. And 
now it was for the first time given him to know that he 
was to enter the lists against a powerful king — that into 
his hands it was to be given to lift the yoke of bondage 
from the necks of a suffering people. No marvel is it 
that surprise should for a time hold him speechless. He 
was silent at first from inability to speak. He remained 
silent for a considerable time in deep and anxious 
thought ; and the first words he spoke plainly told that 
he had considered well the situation, and that he meant 
not to perplex his faithful old friend and servant with 
needless questions. 

“ Englehard,” he said, as he stopped from his thought- 
ful pacing to and fro, “how far from Olmutz is this 
Castle of Langwald ?” 

“ It is four miles, and on this side.” 

“ You speak of it as belonging to the emperor.'* 

“Yes. You are aware that our great Karl makes it 
a rule to reserve to himself at least one good fortress 
near to the capital of every kingdom or district within 
his broad domain. When he had brought Moravia 
under his rule, he hit upon Langwald Castle for his 
own, and from that time it has been garrisoned by his 
own people — his own sworn servants. The present 
commandant, or governor, is an old captain of cavalry 
in Karl’s service named Manfred.” 

“ Old Manfred !” cried Winfred, with interest. “ I 
remember him well. What force has he under his com- 
mand ?” 

“ It is small, simply sufficient to maintain the post in 
a creditable manner. There is nothing there to invite 
the attack of marauders ; and the king is sworn to 


Our Hero is Puzzled. 


5 * 


defend it in case of need, as he is also sworn to respect 
it as a seat and abiding place of the emperor.” 

“ Does Manfred know of our coming ?” 

“ He does. He alone was informed of our journey ; 
and but for the unfortunate slip at Zwittau, no other 
person would have known of our presence in Moravia.” 

“Well, good Englehard, let us borrow no trouble 
from that. I cannot believe the king would dare to 
molest us, even had he the desire ; and I certainly fail 
to see why he should desire such a thing. But it is 
time we were on the road. You promise that at Lang- 
wald I shall receive full information ?” 

“ Everything will there be made known to you that 
you can wish to know.” 

“ Enough, my good old friend. I will trouble you no 
more. I know the emperor’s love of mystery, and his 
passion for doing things in his own way, and after his 
own heart ; and surely I, of all men, should be the last 
to criticise him or to complain. Now for the saddle. 
Here come the palfries. The ladies will ride while the 
air is so refreshing. ” 

One more surprise, however, awaited our hero. He 
had helped the princess to her saddle, while his esquire 
performed the same office for the fair Elfrida, and had 
turned to bid adieu to the fat old host, who had followed 
him. into the court, when the latter caught his hand in 
both his own, and with something that sparkled 
strangely like a tear in his eyes, raised it impulsively to 
his lips. 

“ Heaven protect you, noble sir ! and may every bles- 
sing be yours !” So he fervently exclaimed ; and then, 
without waiting for a reply, he let go the knight’s hand 
and turned back towards the quaint old porch, quickly 
disappearing from view. 

Winfred was upon the point of exclaiming to the 


52 


The Knight's Motto . 


princess upon the strange salutation, when he remem- 
bered that he had resolved that he would suffer nothing 
more to astonish him ; and with this memory in mind 
he held his peace. 

It was a beautiful morning. The few clouds that 
floated above the horizon were but flitting shadows, 
with nothing in them that looked like storm, seeming 
rather to temper the heat of the sun, and give freshness 
to the gentle breeze that came from over the distant 
mountains. At the distance of a few miles from Ober- 
heim, they entered a deep forest, which the old guide 
informed them would continue until they had come 
within two or three miles of Langwald Castle. 

The forest was dense and gloomsome ; the trees, 
many of them of remarkable size, were mostly oak, 
with here and there a grand old linden and sycamore. 
The path was clear of obstruction, and the way com- 
paratively level, the few hills encountered being of 
slight elevation, not more than sufficient to agreeably 
diversify the scene. 

Winfred’s first care, upon entering this wood, was to 
send on ahead three trusty outriders, with orders to 
remain within signaling distance of one another, to 
keep a sharp outlook, and to quickly report the appear- 
ance of strangers. With regard to the reliability of his 
men there could be no choice ; he simply selected three 
of those best mounted, and sent them on their way, bid- 
ding them to return only in case of threatened danger. 

After this an hour passed ; and another. At the end 
of the second hour Englehard announced that half the 
distance through the forest had been gained. 

The words had scarcely left his lips when Winfred’s 
quick ear caught the sound of a horse’s footfall ; in a 
moment more one of his scouts came in sight, return- 


A Battle in the Forest. 


53 


ing ; and directly afterward, the other two — the three 
of them urging tneir beasts to the top of their speed. 
With bated breath the young chieftain ordered a halt, 
and waited for his outriders to come up. 


CHAPTER V. 

A BATTLE IN THE FOREST. 

The outriders, when they had reached their chief, 
reported that from the summit of a gentle eminence, on 
looking down into the vale beyond, they had seen a full 
score of heavily armed horsemen, who had there 
stopped to allow their horses to drink at a small stream 
that flowed at their feet. They had counted twenty of 
them ; there might be more, concealed by intervening 
trees. They were all, save one, clad in the defensive 
armor of common men-at-arms — heavy breast-plates and 
back-plates of iron ; with shoulder-pieces and loin- 
guards, and iron skull-caps on their heads. The one 
exception was a tall, powerful warrior, in the armor of 
a knight. He wore a black plume in his helmet, and 
bore lance and shield ; but they had not been able to 
see if he wore the knightly spurs. 

Sir Winfred was upon the point of addressing Engle- 
hard, when the old man cut him off by speaking first. 
He suggested that he should ride forward, and see who 
the strangers were. Old Manfred was tall and power- 
ful ; and might wear knightly armor, without the spurs ; 
and he might possibly have a score of men under arms 
at command, though he had not thought it. 

“But I shall know them for what they are the 


54 


The Knight's Motto. 


moment I set eyes upon them,” he added. “ Shall I 
go ?” 

Yes, and may heaven give you safe return with suc- 
cess !” 

Without further remark old Englehard sped on his 
way, riding like a youth of twent3 7 \ He declared that 
every prominent tree, and crook and turn of the 
path were known and remembered, and that he should 
have no difficulty in seeing without being seen. 

Meantime Winfred made ready for the worst. He 
instructed the princess what she and her maid should 
do in case of conflict ; and they promised obedience. 
They would keep the saddle, and hold the position that 
should be assigned them. His directions to his follow- 
ers were explicit, but simple. Each and every man of 
the troop carried at his saddle-bow a trusty battle-axe, 
the weapon on which they chiefly depended when 
engaged against iron skull-caps. 

Not more than fifteen minutes had elapsed when 
Englehard appeared coming at a moderate pace, but 
with grave concern in his countenance. He was too 
wise to overtax his horse on the eve of possible battle. 

“ There are four-and-twenty of them,” he said, 
“ certainly of the king’s force. Their leader is a knight 
but unknown to me. They are leisurely approaching 
us, having just commenced the ascent of the hill, beyond 
which they were first discovered, as I came in sight of 
them. They did not see me, and evidently have no 
knowledge of our whereabouts. If they are in quest of 
us, they only know or surmise that we are somewhere 
on the road.” 

“ Englehard, what is your opinion ? Do you think it 
within the bounds of possibility that Thorgard would 
dare to send out a force to interfere with us ?” 

“ If you had asked me that question three days ago,” 


A Battle in the Forest. 


55 


answered the old man, solemnly, “ I should most cer- 
tainly have told you, Nay. But now it is different. I 
believe the man called King of Moravia to be capable 
of anything.” 

“ Four-and-twenty, you say ?” 

“ Aye, my master.” 

The knight then, with a warm flush in his face, and 
an unusual light in his eyes, turned to the princess. 

“ Lady Rowena, what say you ? You have a right to 
be heard, and I will not tempt the attack of an enemy 
against your wishes.” 

“ Surely, Sir Winfred,” the princess returned, in 
great surprise, “You would not think for a moment of 
turning back !” 

“ Nay, nay, sweet lady. That no knight could do, 
unless he were one against a serried host. There is 
yet another alternative. This may be an embassy from 
the king, with a demand upon me.” 

“ Enough !” the lady interrupted, her regal form 
seeming to dilate under the influence of the spirit that 
moved her. “ I understand thee. My safety is a con- 
sideration ; but our honor should be considered first; 
and as I regard my honor as intimately connected with 
your own, in preserving one, you will preserve both. 
Submit to nothing that is not right.” 

“ Heaven bless thee for that, dear lady ! I feel it in 
my heart that all will be well.” 

He then saw that his men were ready for instant 
action, and ere long the cavalcade was once more in 
motion. The palanquin was borne in the rear, the 
horses attached thereto being so well trained that they 
knew and kept their place of their own accord ; and 
the sumpters were trusted to do the same. The troop 
moved at a leisurely pace, it being the desire of the 


56 


The Knight ’s Motto . 


chief that the horses should be fresh and strong in case 
of battle ; and that a battle was coming, he felt sure. 

Twenty minutes, perhaps more, had elapsed, and 
little more than half a mile had been gained on the 
road, when, as our friends came in sight of a gentle 
eminence that arose before them, they saw the troop, of 
which the scouts had told, just turning the brow, and 
descending towards them. They could not have been 
in a more favorable position for review. As they came 
down the gentle decline, each and every man was 
clearly pictured against the verdant background ; the 
character of the arms was clearly distinguished, as was 
the general character of the troop. 

It was not an inviting looking body of men. Had 
they met in another place, Sir Winfred and his follow- 
ers would have at once, and unhesitatingly, pronounced 
them a band of mountain brigands. They had neither 
the appearance nor the bearing of soldiers. The ruffian 
and bravo was stamped on every one. Their leader, 
who rode in front, upon a horse cased in chain mail, 
was surely a knight of powerful frame. A heavy black 
plume floated over his polished helmet, and it could be 
seen, as he wore his visor up, that his face was dark 
and forbidding. 

“ Ah !” exclaimed Englehard, who rode by his chief’s 
side, “ I know the man now. He is Orson of Offenburg. 
When I last knew him he was little better than a forest 
robber. He was expelled from the court of good Hilde- 
bert on account of the very grossest immorality. 
Doubtless Thorgard has enlisted him into his service 
and knighted him.” 

“ Englehard, art sure thou art right ? Is that the 
man, and such his character?” 

“ In truth it is, my master. I am not mistaken.” 

“ By my faith ! he is a stout-looking knight, and sits 


A Battle in the Forest . 


57 


his horse proudly. If he be in truth a knight, dubbed 
by a king, there can be no shame in riding a tilt against 
him.” 

“ ’ Twill be a rare honor for him to cross lances with 
the Knight of the Riven Oak ; but I* faith ! a costly 
one !” said the old guide. 

Winfred nodded approvingly, but made no further 
remark. The head of the coming troop had now 
reached the level ground at the foot of the hill, and 
was not more than a hundred yards distant. The prin- 
cess and her maid had gone to the rear, where Sir Win- 
fred had designated for them a stopping-place, with the 
palanquin and the sumpters. This done, the young 
chieftain returned to the front and ordered a halt. 

The ground was open, with plenty of space for action. 
The men-at-arms were drawn up in two ranks, but 
with spaces sufficiently between them to allow those of 
the rear rank to dash instantly to the front in case of 
need. 

Ere long the dark-visaged knight, having come 
within easy hailing distance, rode to the front of his 
troop and stopped. 

“ What ho !” he shouted, in a loud, coarse voice. “ In 
the name of His Most Puissant Majesty, Thorgard of 
Moravia, I, Orson of Offenburg, knight and gentleman, 
demand to know who and what you are, and with what 
intentions you thus enter, with an armed force, within 
the lines of his dominion. Speak ! Who are you ?” 

“ I am a knight and paladin of Charlemagne. My 
intention is simply to enter the castle of my master, 
there to abide as it shall please me.” 

“ What is your name ?” 

“ I told you, and I told you truly — knight and paladin 
of Charlemagne.” 


58 


The Knight 's Motto. 


“ But you have a name — a name from childhood. I 
demand to know it.” 

Our hero was for the moment at a loss for an answer. 
His towering indignation, surging to every avenue of 
feeling, moved him to hurl back scorn and defiance ; but 
calmer thought, and a whispered word from Sir Alonzo, 
his lieutenant, led him to speak with comparative 
calmness : 

“ If you must have a Christian name to give your 
heathen king, tell him that Sir Alonzo of Dusseldorf, 
with good intent, and peacefully, seeks the Castle of 
Langw^ald, having been thereto ordered by the Emperor 
Karl.” 

The grim-visaged knight of Offenburg made a low 
obeisance ; then rode a few paces nearer, and fixed his 
gaze upon the females. The marvellous beauty of the 
princess moved him, as was plainly to be seen in the 
sudden kindling of his blood-shot eyes, and in the com- 
pression of the sensuous lips. 

“Sir Alonzo of Dusseldorf, I am commanded by 
my royal master to bring straightway to his presence 
the females no w r bearing you company. You, of course, 
are at liberty to go with us. His majesty will give you 
right good welcome, never fear.” 

“ Sir Orson !” returned the paladin, lifting himself to 
his full height, “ if your address was meant for me, take 
this for my answer : By order of the Emperor Karl; I 
am on my way to his Castle of Langwald, with these 
ladies in my charge ; and thither it is my purpose to 
go. You will obstruct my passage at your peril.” 

“ Aha ! Does that mean a challenge to battle ?” 
demanded Orson, loudly. 

“ By no means,” returned Winfred, quietly. “ It 
simply means that I would have you remove yourself 


A Battle in the Forest. 


59 


and your force from our path, and leave us to pursue 
our course in peace.” 

“ My brave and gallant youth, it cannot be allowed. 
Yonder females must bear me company to the presence 
of the king. I will simply add, for your benefit : 
Those who know the king of Moravia are not in the 
habit of disobeying him. If you will yield the women 
at once, no harm shall come to them, or to you. If you 
refuse, I shall take them from you ; and upon you be 
the responsibility. I think you know what that 
means.” 

Having thus spoken, the knight of Offenburg turned 
and whispered a few words to one of his officers, and 
Winfred’s quick eye caught the meaning of the move- 
ment which immediately followed. It was preparation 
for the onset. 

“ Hold !” he shouted, in a voice that caused every 
man of the opposite host to hold his breath. “ Let 
there be no mistake in this. Is it your purpose to 
attack me ?” 

“ It is my purpose to capture the Princess of Bohemia ; 
so look to yourselves.” 

“ And on the next instant he turned in his saddle, and 
ordered his men to make ready for the charge.” 

But the knight of Charlemagne was too. quick for him. 
Sir Winfred’s followers had read his intent in his eyes, 
and were ready for the word. 

“ Oho ! For God and the Right ! For the great Karl 
and our princess !” sounded the paladin’s voice, like the 
blast of a trumpet. And on the instant, like so many 
bodies shot from a catapult, the gallant troop dashed 
forward. Winfred had couched his trusty lance — a lance 
that had never yet been beaten down by friend or foe — 
and rode straight for the knight of Offenburg. It seemed 
but the work of a moment, Winfred had no care for 


6o 


The Knight's Motto. 


his horse. A touch of the spur guided him. The point 
of his lance was aimed at his opponent’s visor, and Orson 
bore his buckler to ward it off, at the same time glanc- 
ing beneath its lower edge to guide his own weapon. 
At that instant, like a lightning flash, with a strength of 
arm possessed by few in Christendom, Sir Winfred’s 
point swept in a circle, passing in below the opposing 
buckler, and was driven in between breastplate and 
gorget, breaking away one of the plates at the back as 
it passed through the neck. The blow of Orson’s lance 
had been heavy, but its force had been expended on the 
surface of the other’s shield. 

As the knight of Offenburg went to the earth he 
carried Winfred’s lance with him, the owner having 
been unable to withdraw it. Our hero’s next move- 
ment was to take his heavy battle-axe from its rest ; 
then he looked towards the princess, and saw her safe ; 
and then swept with his eye the scene around him. 

Englehard had recognized in the foremost rank of 
the enemy the two outriders, Bruno and Hartrich. The 
former he had pointed out to. Sir Alonzo, reserving the 
latter to himself. Bruno had gone down with the sharp 
point of the knight’s lance driven clean through his 
brain, and a moment later Hartrich had bitten the dust 
beneath a tremendous blow from Englehard’s axe. 

“ By Saint Michael !” exclaimed our old friend when 
he had seen what Sir Alonzo had done, “ there go a pair 
of precious rascals of whom the earth is happily rid. 
Sir Knight, that stroke will win you the blessing of a 
thousand thankful hearts !” 

“ And have you not won your share, good Engle 
hard ?” Sir Alonzo smilingly replied. 

The old man had barely time to nod assent when he 
saw one of his friends hard set upon by two stout 
enemies, and in a moment more he had brought one of 


A Battle in the Forest. 


61 


the troopers to grief, leaving his comrade to settle with 
the other, which was quickly done. 

In every way the troop of the king — if it was his 
troop — had been at a disadvantage. In the first place, 
Sir Winfred, with Englehard’s assistance, had been 
permitted to pick his men-at-arms from among ten 
thousand brave and gallant soldiers, the result of which 
was that he had set forth upon his journey with a force 
well-nigh invulnerable. In the second place, each and 
every man in his command idolized him, and felt an 
equal interest with himself in all that he might be 
called to do, whereas in the opposing force there had 
been no cohesion of either respect or interest. Had 
they been called to attack a rich caravan, where plunder 
was to be golden, every man would have felt an interest 
of his own ; but to this attack they had come like so 
many trained animals, simply because their master had 
bidden them — the master whose bread they ate and 
whose wrath they feared. In the third place, Winfred's 
men had come to the attack with their mighty axes, 
while their opponents had depended upon ponderous 
clubs and cumbersome swords. And, lastly, Winfred 
had been the first in the onset, every arm striking with 
his own, so that the troop of Thorgard had been 
deprived of their leader and really beaten before they 
had come to an understanding of the plan of battle, 
even supposing that Orson had made such a thing. 

Winfred had struck down one other man after he had 
disposed of the knight of Offenburg, and was in the act 
of turning to where a squad of the enemy had dis- 
mounted and were calling for quarter, when a sight 
caught his eye that startled him to the very centre of 
his being. It was just as Sir Alonzo and Englehard 
had sent the two outriding villains to their account. 

In all probability a large reward had been promised 


62 


The Knight's Motto . 


to those who should capture the Bohemian princess. At 
the moment of the first onset a party of five of the Mor- 
avian troopers had separated themselves from their 
companions, and adroitly slipped into the wood, under 
which cover they had made their way to a point close 
by the palanquin, and the position of the princess and 
her maid. These men our hero saw as they emerged 
from their cover. He called to his lieutenant as he 
touched his horse with his spurs, and dashed forward. 

A strong hand was laid upon the princess’ arm, but 
its grasp was not fixed before the axe of the paladin had 
split its owner’s skull. At the same moment the lance 
of Sir Alonzo sent another of the party to the earth. 
Like a flash Sir Winfred’s trenchant axe rose and fell, 
and a third of the number bit the dust. Then the lieuten- 
ant, having dropped the lance and drawn his own axe, 
struck down the fourth, while the remaining man 
wheeled his horse and made his escape. 

And thus was struck the last blow in the conflict. 
On the main field those who had not fallen, and had not 
made their escape by flight, had thrown down their arms 
and surrendered, old Englehard having taken it upon 
himself to order a stay in the work of killing. Of the 
prisoners there were only six. On looking over the 
ground nine were found dead, and one severely 
wounded ; so that eight must have escaped from the 
sanguinary field. 

Justice had been dealt out in a wonderful manner. 
On the part of the troop of the princess not a man had 
been killed, nor was there one severely wounded. A 
few bruises and a few slight cuts were all. And yet, 
when we remember that each and every man of the 
company was a master of the science of arms, cool in 
battle, and mighty in physical strength and prowess, 
we shall not wonder at the result 


A Battle in the Forest. 63 


Before it was decided what should be done with the 
prisoners, Englehard suggested that the wounded man 
should be questioned apart from his comrades. He was 
young — not more than two or three-and-twenty — a fair- 
faced, good-looking youth, with nothing of the villain 
in his countenance. In answer to questions of the old 
guide, he said his name was Dagobert. His father had 
been a scribe named Saxhelm, in the service of the 
king, but had been dead several years. He had been 
obliged to enter the army at the age of eighteen. Sir 
Orson had taken him into his service because he could 
read and write, which the knight could not do. He said 
he had no wish to return to the army, and, finally, when 
he had been assured that no harm should come to him 
— that his captors would be his friends, if he wished it 
— he confessed that he would rather live on a crust in 
the service of a good man than feed on the fat of the 
land in the service of the king. His wound was a deep 
cut on the shoulder, extending down on the breast, but 
no vital part had been touched, and Englehard decided 
that he would speedily recover. 

Having decided that Dagobert should be retained, 
and kindly cared for, Sir Winfred called the six prison- 
ers before him, and asked them if they felt any disposi- 
tion to molest him further. They answered most 
emphatically that they had not a particle, and of their 
own accord they had never had any. 

He next asked them if he should leave them behind 
would they remain and care for the bodies of their 
fallen comrades? After that they might go where 
they pleased. 

They begged of him that he would take them into 
his service. That, he told them, he could not do. If 
he kept them at all, he could only retain them as prison- 
ers, and for that he had no desire or inclination. He 


64 


The Knight's Motto . 


would not seek to induce them to desert from the 
service of their lawful master. 

They finally promised that they would properly care 
for the bodies of their dead comrades, and then return 
to Olmutz ; and ere long thereafter our friends were 
once more on their way. 


CHAPTER VI. 

LANGWALD CASTLE. 

The sun had very nearly reached its meridian when 
the cavalcade moved away from the scene of the late 
conflict. Our hero did not trouble himself concerning 
the course of the six freed prisoners he had left 
behind. They would probably bury the dead bodies 
as they had promised. What they did beyond that, so 
long as they did not trouble him, he cared not. They 
were not the sort of men he wished to have in his 
company. 

Neither did he borrow trouble with regard to the 
possible light in which the King of Moravia might 
regard the late passage at arms. He doubted very 
much if the monarch would acknowledge any responsi- - 
bility in the affair or any concern in its result. 

Yet he apprehended difficulty. It was plainly to be 
seen that Thorgard strongly desired to get the Princess 
of Bohemia into his hands. To Winfred, the king’s 
object was not so plain ; but old Englehard did not 
hesitate to venture an opinion on the subject, though he 
did it with evident regret. Said he : 

“Think of it, my master. Think of the relative 


Langwald Castle. 


65 


positions of the two kingdoms — Moravia and Bohemia. 
From the capital of one to the capital of the other, a 
man, well mounted, might ride in two days. There is 
no king pf Bohemia — only a regent and a princess, the 
former simply holding the sceptre without the crown, 
while the latter is arriving at queenly age. Now, think 
what the King of Moravia might do with Bohemia if he 
could hut make the beautiful princess his queen. Do 
you not see ?” 

The effect upon the youthful paladin was startling. 
At first the thing appeared too utterly preposterous to 
be worthy of a moment’s consideration ; but when he 
had recovered from the first shock, and was able to 
calmly reflect, he was forced to admit that there was 
sense in the proposition. Thorgard was evidently 
capable of any atrocity that could promise him power 
and pelf ; and his present power was not to be dis- 
regarded. What might he not do — what monstrous 
iniquity might he not commit — could he but lay hands 
upon the Princess Roweria ? 

Englehard saw the youth’s trouble, and came quickly 
to his aid. 

“ Dear master, for the present we must look to it that 
the base plotter deprives you not of your charge. With 
regard to your future course, let your thoughts rest 
until we are safely at Langwald Castle. There you 
will receive what I have promised — light to guide you 
aright. If I may offer a suggestion, we will lose not 
another moment on the road.” 

“Thanks, my true friend. So it shall be,” returned 
Winfred’ kindly and promptly. He then turned to the 
princess, and also spoke with his lieutenant. 

“ It lacks yet some minutes of noon,” he said ; “ and 

in two hours, if no accident betide, we shall be within 
sight of our castle. Will you wait for further refresh- 


66 


The Knight's Motto . 


ment until we can dine within walls that we may justly 
call our own ?” 

The answer was quickly given, and without hesita- 
tion. They would go on with all possible speed. 

The princess had come from the scene of conflict 
strong and resolute. Born of a line of heroes, and 
educated in the court of the greatest warrior of the age, 
she was not one to be cast down by witnessing a battle, 
nor to be seriously shaken while she felt that those for 
whom she cared were in the right ; and when, in the 
end, the right had triumphed, and her friends had. come 
forth comparatively unharmed, she thanked heaven in 
her heart, and felt new strength and courage ; and as 
she sat her well-trained palfrey by her hero’s side, she 
looked the very picture of what she was — a royal 
princess. 

The sun lacked several minutes of being two hours 
past its meridian, when our cavalcade emerged from the 
dense forest, and saw before them, on a gentle emi- 
nence, and not more than a mile distant, a grand old 
castle, with high towers and battlements, and sur- 
rounded by a massive wall and a deep moat. A solitary 
man was visible, standing on the nearest bastion, and 
as soon as Sir Winfred saw him, he gave the order for 
throwing his banner to the breeze, and for its bearer to 
come to the front. 

But a few moments had elapsed after the paladin’s 
banner had been exposed when the solitary sentinel 
disappeared from the castle wall, and a few minutes 
later the ensign of the Emperor of the West floated 
put into the breeze from the flag-staff on the highest 
tower. 

The cavalcade had reached very near to the foot of 
the hill on which the castle stood when its great gate 
was opened, the drawbridge lowered, and presently 


Langwald Castle. 


67 


thereafter a score of horsemen rode forth, with one at 
their head whose silvery locks proclaimed his advanced 
age. 

“ It is good old Manfred !” cried Englehard, as soon 
as he saw him. “ Ah ! he is a good man, and a brave 
and gallant soldier. He and I are of the same age, and 
many a hard-fought field have we seen together.” 

At the foot of the gentle slope, Sir Winfred came to a 
halt and awaited the arrival of the coming party. As 
they came near Englehard was sent to meet them, a 
privilege which he embraced with alacrity. 

The meeting between the two old troopers— comrades 
for many years — was a scene pleasant to all who beheld 
it. They dismounted and rushed to each other’s 
embrace like a pair of ardent lovers ; nor were tears 
wanting to attest the depth of their emotions. 

When they had sufficiently recovered their composure 
they started, still on foot, toward the cavalcade, seeing 
which the paladin himself dismounted, preferring so to 
meet the faithful old servant of his imperial master. 

“ Sir Winfred,” said Manfred, when the ceremony of 
introduction had been performed, “ I shall not try to tell 
you how glad and how proud I am to see you, and to 
welcome you to the command of Langwald Castle. My 
service shall prove my faith.” 

“ My dear Captain,” returned the knight, retaining 
the old man’s hand while he spoke, “ it is sufficient for 
me to say the fact is known to me that our great Karl 
gives to you his trust and confidence without stint. 
Your known character avouches for you. Let me believe 
that we shall be friends, true and devoted, henceforth.” 

The speech brought tears to the old man’s eyes, and 
it was with difficulty that he could overcome his emo- 
tion sufficiently to respond. Winfred was surprised 
that words so simple as those which he had spoken 


68 


The Knights Motto . 


should have so strangely affected the stern old warrior. 
Further, he wondered at the eager, impulsive manner 
in which the aged captain had embraced him, and in 
which he had regarded him. However, he could not 
stop then to conjecture. He led Manfred forward, and 
presented him to the princess. 

No courtier, reared and trained in all the pomp and 
circumstance of kingly courts, could have borne himself 
more properly or gallantly in the response to the kind 
and generous salutation of the princess than did Captain 
Manfred ; yet he was not affected as he had been before. 
He was proud to know the royal lady, and promised 
himself both pride and pleasure in her service ; but his 
heart went not out to her as it had certainly gone out to 
her knightly attendant. 

When Manfred had been introduced to Sir Alonzo of 
Dusseldorf, and by him to the troop, Sir Winfred re- 
mounted and rode forward, with the princess by his 
side, and was by the captain introduced to his followers, 
the men-at-arms of the castle. There were an even 
score of them, most of whom were beyond the middle age, 
long used to arms, and of faith and courage amply 
proved. Their reception of the youthful paladin and 
his beautiful companion was jubilant. There Was 
nothing of hollowness in the loud acclaim ; it was 
hearty and spontaneous, the offering of men who meant 
what they said and who never spoke idly. 

The foundations of the main keep of Langwald Castle 
had been laid by Lech, a Duke of Poland, early in the 
sixth century. Other magnates had added to it from 
time to time, until at the opening of the reign of the 
great Karl it had become a fortress capable of shelter- 
ing two thousand men, and well-nigh impregnable. Not 
only did it occupy a commanding position on the 
highway between the eastern and western provinces 


Langwald Castle . 


69 


north of the Danube, but as a hunting seat it was 
unexcelled. About every wild animal that roamed the 
forests and mountains of Europe was to be found within 
a few hours’ ride of the locality. When Charlemagne 
had brought Moravia within his broad domain, he fixed 
upon the castle as his especial seat and headquarters in 
the kingdom, and made it his personal property. He 
made the moat broader and deeper ; strengthened the 
walls by adding thickness and throwing out bolder bas- 
tions. Within the walls he erected a new keep, 
wherein every known comfort of the time was provided 
for ; he built new barracks and new stables ; put up a 
strong portcullis of welded and bolted iron ; made the 
drawbridge larger and stronger ; and covered the outer 
faces of gates and posterns with thick iron plates. 

Previous to the time of Charlemagne those who had 
done most for the castle had been the family of Hilde- 
bert the Good. There had been three Hildeberts. 
Hildebert, called the Strong, had been the first of the 
family, and the first, in fact, of the Moravian rulers who 
were recognized as kings. He reigned forty years, and 
at. his death his son, called Hildebert the Wise, took the 
sceptre. This second Hildebert reigned five-and-thirty 
years, and was in turn followed by his son, who, very 
soon after he had ascended the throne, won for himself 
the appellation of Hildebert the Good. 

Hildebert the Good met with an untimely end. He 
had reigned twelve years, and was in the height of his 
fame as a brave and gallant captain, a wise and just 
ruler, and a kind and generous friend to all his subjects 
and to all his kind ; and, furthermore, having come at an 
early age to the throne, he was yet in the morning of 
his life, when he was killed while pursuing the sport of 
hunting in the forest. He was followed by his half- 
brother, Thorgard, the same who now held the sceptre 


7o 


The Knight's Motto. 


and who had occupied the throne twenty years. 

The first few years of Thorgard’s reign had been 
moderate, and comparatively just ; but in time his true 
character made itself manifest. His gross licentiousness 
had for a while been hidden, and he had contented him- 
self with squandering the treasure his predecessors had 
accumulated ; but when he had emptied the coffers his 
brother had left, he began to call upon his people ; and 
when he had thrown off the mask in one direction, he 
unmasked in all ; and by the time he had been ten 
years king, his subjects knew the full measure of the 
curse that had fallen upon them. Scarcely a vice was 
there in the whole catalogue of vices which he did not 
possess ; and the vices which he fed in himself he pan- 
dered to in the courtiers and willing tools who sur- 
rounded him. It was, in truth, a corrupt and venal 
court. 

When, in order to keep up his wicked extravagance, 
Thorgard could no longer run in debt, he taxed his 
people ; and when he had taxed them to the uttermost, 
he robbed them ; and when he could no longer find 
people at home to rob, he crossed over the confines of 
his realm, giving his soldiery full license to plunder as 
they pleased, so that a sufficient share came to him. 
It was known that the worst — the most to be dreaded — 
of the robber gangs of the Moravian Mountains, and of 
the Carpathians, were really in his employ. 

Something of this Charlemagne had suspected long 
ago, and something of it had he known ; but of the 
worst — of Thorgard’s full measure of iniquity — he had 
not conceived until quite recently ; but even then he 
had not been sufficiently assured ; and for the purpose 
of gaining that assurance, together with another pur- 
pose of which it is not necessary now to speak, the youth- 
ful paladin had been sent upon his present expedition. 


Langwald Castle % 




Pardon this seeming digression. A knowledge of 
Thorgard's character and antecedents we deemed nec- 
essary to a proper understanding of our story ; so, 
while we were speaking of his family, it seemed entirely 
appropriate that the knowledge should be given as we 
have given it. 

We spoke particularly of the three Hildeberts because 
the. Castle of Langwald owed some of its most remark- 
able points and contrivances to them, which will be seen 
at the proper time. 

Both Winfred and Rowena, used as they were to the 
grand castellated structures of the empire, were sur- 
prised by the extent and strength of the fortress which 
they now, for the first time, entered. The courts were 
broad and well kept, the sward as smooth as a house 
floor, soft as velvet and green as an emerald. The 
buildings, even to the meanest out-houses, were all of 
stone and in perfect repair. The main wall was sixteen 
feet in height on the outside above the foundation, and 
so wide on the top that three horsemen might easily 
and safely ride abreast. They were still more surprised 
upon entering the principal keep, a structure which the 
first Hildebert had commenced, and which his succes- 
sors had completed. 

The Hildeberts had made Langwald their summer 
residence ; and within its walls they had entertained 
friends of every nation. The keep was spacious, of 
three stories above the ground ; and what there might 
be below that, very few knew. It was known that there 
were deep crypts and strong dungeons. The 
Hildeberts had not been without enemies, nor had the 
realm been without its criminals ; and as the kind- 
hearted monarchs had refused to inflict the death 
penalty when they could reasonably avoid it, they had 
at times many prisoners under bolt and bar ; and such 


72 


The Knight's Motto . 


of those as they wished to favor — such as were not 
wholly bad, or in whose cases were mitigating circum- 
stances — they consigned to the dungeons of Langwald, 
where especial attendants might minister to their bodily 
comforts, and where, if need be, even the most desperate 
mortal might be held beyond his power to escape. But 
enough of this. We shall have occasion again to refer 
to that portion below the surface of the earth. For 
the present we have to do only with those parts 
inhabited by the family of the lord and his servitors. 

By far the most commodious, and even luxurious, 
section of the new keep had been erected by Charle- 
magne himself, or after his plans and by his artisans. 
It was a wing, with a tower many feet higher than any 
other pinnacle of the structure, and had been fashioned 
and constructed for his own use, or for the use of those 
who might for the time represent him. To this wing 
old Manfred led our hero and heroine, showing them 
those apartments which he had caused to be prepared 
for each, respectively ; also those intended for especial 
friends and trusted attendants. 

The apartments designed for the princess were 
hung with silk and tapestry, wrought with gold and 
silver ; soft carpets on the stone floors ; mirrors of 
burnished silver and furniture exquisitely finished 
and well adapted to . comfort. Perhaps the most 
remarkable feature of this wing was in the glass of its 
windows. The embrasures and loopholes of the sleep- 
ing and living rooms were all furnished with ponderous 
brazen sashes, in which were set small lozenge-shaped 
lights of glass, which had been brought to Charlemagne 
from Greece ; and some of it, if we may believe the 
writers of the time, was so nearly transparent, or we 
might say, so entirely transparent, that objects at a dis- 
tance without could be plainly seen through it. 


Langwald Castle. 


73 


Though the apartments pleased the princess greatly, 
she found something in her new abode that pleased her 
vastly more — the wife and daughter of the good old 
governor of the castle, Manfred. Clotilda, the wife, was 
a short, plump woman, two or three years younger than 
her husband, with a face gentle and kind, a loving look 
and smile ; strong and healthful, and really handsome 
despite her years. Almost the first impulse of the prin- 
cess, after she had looked well upon the genial, soul- 
lighted face of the matron, was to bend her head and 
imprint a warm, loving kiss on her cheek. From that 
moment Clotilda would have died for the beautiful 
Rowena, had the need presented itself. 

Isabel, the daughter, was nineteen years of age, born 
only one short month earlier than the princess herself, 
shorter than her mother, plump, fair and laughter- 
loving, with yellow, golden hair, bright blue eyes, with 
dimples in her cheeks and in her chin, around which 
smiles lurked and played almost continuously in her 
waking moments. To this girl Rowena’s heart went put 
at once ; and be sure the love and trust she gave were 
not misplaced. 

With regard to the personnel of the castle we will only 
say further : Beside Manfred and his twenty men-at- 
arms there were two armorers, three grooms, and four 
men-servants, all strong, able men, while of females 
there were, besides Clotilda and Isabel, two cooks, two 
general helpers and two chamber- women. 

As soon as Sir Winfred had seen the princess safely 
and happily bestowed, he called upon Englehard and 
Manfred to attend him to the place where the prisoner, 
Dagobert, had been lodged. It was in a comfortable 
apartment, where he had plenty of light and fresh air, 
and a soft couch on which to lie. Rainulf, the surgeon 
of the castle, had just finished the dressing of the wound 


74 


The Knight's Motto. 


as they entered. He said the youth would live if fever 
did not set in, and there need be no fever if the patient 
had proper care and was not unduly excited. 

Winfred had conceived a strong liking for the youth, 
as had the latter for himself, and he desired that all 
might be done for him that could be. Manfred promised 
that nothing should be lacking in the way of help. 

As yet the paladin had asked the prisoner nothing 
concerning his knowledge of the planning of the attack 
upon himself and party, and the author thereof, and he 
wished now to do so. The surgeon told him he might, 
without fear of harm, ask a few questions, but he should 
not call upon the sufferer for continued exertion. He 
had lost much blood, and was yery weak. 

“ Dagobert,” Winfred said softly and kindly, sitting 
by his side, and taking one of his shapely hands, “I 
have a few questions to ask you, which I trust you will 
answer to the full extent of your knowledge. Sir Orson 
proclaimed that the king had commanded him to bring 
to him the Princess of Bohemia. Do you know if this 
was true ?” 

“ It was true, good sir." 

“ You are sure of it ? Did you hear the king give the 
order ?” 

“ More than that, noble sir,” the youth answered, with 
a flash of momentary light in his full, clear eyes. “ The 
king himself addressed us as we were ready to mount 
this morning, promising us all promotion and extra 
favor if we should succeed in capturing the princess.” 

“ Was capturing the word he used ?” 

“ It was — his very word.” 

“ Do you know if there are at present at the court of 
Thorgard, any important persons from Bohemia ? ” 

Again the dull eyes brightened with a flash. 


Langwald Castle . 


75 


“ There are three,” he said. “ They are belted 
knights, and have fame as warriors.” 

“ Do yon know their names ?” 

“Yes, sir. I have had occasion to write them more 
than once. They are Agar, Sigismund and Erich.” 

“ Traitors all !” muttered old Englehard between his 
clenched teeth. 

“ Have you any idea of the nature of their business in 
Olmutz ?” the knight continued, without apparent notice 
of Engl ehard’s exclamation. 

“ I only know that they have been closeted many 
times with the king, and that much is made of them. 
I saw them as they left the palace this morning, after 
word had come in that the Princess of Bohemia was on 
her way towards the capital, and they were greatly 
excited, and seemed to be hopeful of some great good 
to themselves. I heard Agar say : ‘ It will be a great thing 
for us? Then Sigismund put in : ‘ Aye , if Thorgard only 
keeps his word? Then Agar added : * No fear of that , 
since it is for his own interest? After that they went 
beyond my hearing, and — I — heard no more.” 

It was with difficulty that the last words were spoken. 
Winfred thanked the youth for his kindness and readi- 
ness in answering ; and having renewed his promise 
that he would befriend him thenceforth, he arose and 
left the apartment. 

The plot was surely thickening. The youthful adven- 
turer felt that if light was ever to be his, now was the 
hour of its need. 

“ Dear master,” pleaded Englehard, with a wondrous 
light in his clear gray eyes, “ wait till you have eaten. 
You will want nothing else on your mind when the 
story is once in your hands, and yours to read. You 
shall have it this day.” 

The words had scarcely escaped the old man’s lips, 


76 


The Knight's Motto. 


when a note, as welcome to Winfred himself as it was 
to his hungry followers, awoke the drowsy air — the 
note of the horn that announced dinner. 


CHAPTER VII. 

A STORY OF THE PAST-LIGHT. 

The good Dame Clotilda had been expecting the 
coming of the princess and her gallant companion, 
together with their following, so she was amply pre- 
pared to make them comfortable ; and, moreover, she 
earnestly desired that their first impressions of Lang- 
wald should be favorable, to which end she had looked 
well to her larder, being careful that nothing should be 
wanting which the country could afford to set forth a 
table fit for the great Karl himself. And she had suc- 
ceeded in her undertaking. She had prepared a feast 
not to be excelled in any point or part, and her guests 
did not fail to speak their commendation, though, 
indeed, speech was hardly necessary. The justice they 
did to her provisions in their manner of disposing of 
them spoke more emphatically of their appreciation 
than words could have done. 

At the board were Sir Winfred, the Princess Rowena, 
Sir Alonzo, Englehard and Manfred. The latter would 
have refused, but the paladin would not sit at this, his 
first meal in the castle, without him. Dame Clotilda 
was invited, but her excuse was valid. How would they 
be fed if she were to forsake her place between the 
board and the larder ? But Rowena gained one con- 
cession. She persuaded Isabel to take a seat by her 


A Story of the Past . 


77 


side, and to furthermore promise that she would never 
refuse when her companionship was desired. Elfrida’s 
place, as an attendant upon her lady, was too firmly 
fixed to be set aside even on such an occasion. The 
faithful and devoted maid would have sooner thought 
of flying — and might have felt more at home in mid-air 
—then she would have thought of sitting with her 
mistress at a stated meal. 

One item of conversation occurred at the table which 
is so intimately connected with our story that we must 
repeat it. A remark having been made touching the 
character of the present King of Moravia, the princess 
earnestly asked how it was that Thorgard, having come 
of the same blood — of the same family— with the three 
Hildeberts, should differ from them so widely. 

“To me,” she said, “it seems almost incredible that a 
son of Hildebert the Wise could be so utterly base and 
wicked — so entirely without goodness of thought or 
feeling — as is this king called Thorgard. Was he truly 
a son of the wise monarch ?” 

She had directed her speech to Manfred ; but it was 
Englehard who made answer, both Sir Winfred and the 
governor signifying to him that he should do so. 

“ Noble lady,” the old man said, with a tremor in his 
voice which told how deep was his feeling, “ Thorgard 
is truly a descendant of the wise old king of Moravia, 
and yet he came by his character honestly enough. 
Hildebert the Wise, in the vigor of his young manhood, 
married with a beautiful princess of Saxony named 
Swanhild. Of the children born to them one alone sur- 
vived — their youngest — a son, named after his father, 
Hildebert. While the latter was yet an infant, his 
mother, the beautiful Swanhild, as good as she was beau- 
tiful — died. Little more than a year after the death of 
the good queen, there came to the court of the king, in 


78 


The Knight's Motto* 


the train of an Italian nobleman, a .woman so beautiful 
that fools went mad about her. She was doubtless very 
handsome, with a dark, night-like beauty that can cap- 
tivate the senses without touching the heart. 

“ vShe was young, this Italian beauty, and scheming. 
Her name was Zorana. Very soon after she had been 
introduced at court, she fixed her evil eye on the king. 
She flattered him, and pretended to sympathize with 
him in his bereavemeht. Praises of the lost Swanhild 
were ever on her lips, and promises that she would copy 
her own life in the future, after the noble lessons left 
by the lamented queen. I need not tell you her arts. 
Suffice it to say, the heart of the king was tender and 
yielding, and Zorana gained a key to it. During many 
weeks she artfully pursued the one grand object she had 
in view, and at length she attained it. In an evil hour 
the king was captivated, and believing in his heart that 
she loved him as the apple of her eye, he offered her his 
hand — offered her the empty seat by his side. 

“ I need not tell you how she accepted him. Of course 
it w r as coyly and demurely. She professed to fear all 
sorts of things— that she was not good enough ; that 
she was of another people ; that, though she had given 
to him her very soul with her heart, she feared he had 
no love to give her in return. She sank upon his bosom, 
declaring that she would rather die, then and there, 
loving him as she did, than live to discover that he loved 
her not. Poor old man ! he was not proof against such 
wiles. He took her to his bosom, and swore that his 
love should never fail her. All this was told to me later 
by one who saw and heard. 

“Zorana became Hildebert’s second wife — queen in 
Swanhild’s place. Before her child was born— she had 
but one— Thorgard, the present king,— before the birth 
of that child her true character came to the surface. 


A Story of the Past. 


79 


The Italian, in whose company she had come to Olmutz, 
confessed that she was a gypsy of Catania in Sicily ; 
that her father had been a gypsy chief, and one of the 
boldest and most terrible of the banditti of the Neptu- 
nian Mountains. 

“ I will not attempt to tell you the life she led the 
unfortunate king while she lived. Fortunately for him 
and for all concerned, her elevation hastened her end. 
Before her child was a year old she had become a con- 
firmed drunkard. She seemed to live upon wine — 
drinking the strongest she could procure, — and so she 
continued to live six weary years — weary to the king, 
and to all who loved him, — six years after the birth of 
her child,— and then she died. The king lived on, gov- 
erning his realm with kindest moderation, fifteen years 
after Zorana’s death ; but he was never again wholly 
happy. He sometimes smiled, but the old hearty laugh 
of his happy days was never heard more. 

“ A few there were who fancied that memory of the 
sad mistake of his life rendered him thus grave and sad; 
but those who knew him best knew that the thorn in 
his side was the son his gypsy wife had left behind her 
— a son inheriting her vice without her beauty, and 
without her ruling weakness. Thorgard had the appe- 
tite of his mother, but unlike her he had self-will suffi- 
cient to hide his vice from the gaze of the world. His 
father alone knew him thoroughly — knew him to be 
without principle, without conscience, and without love 
in his heart. 

“ One source of joy, however, the king possessed, — 
his elder son — son of his sainted Swanhild. Young 
Hildebert, as he approached manhood, was all that a 
father’s deepest heart could desire. Already he gave 
promise of meriting the appellation he afterwards 
received from a devoted, loving people — Hildebert 


8o 


The Knight's Motto. 


the Good. The prince was twenty-one years of age 
when his father died, and he ascended the throne with- 
out question. 

“ Young Hildebert very soon gave proof of the spirit 
that was in him. A revolt beyond the Carpathians 
called him into the field before he had been king a year. 
He placed himself at the head of his army, and marched 
to the disaffected district. He found the trouble greater 
than he had been led to believe it. A large district of 
Styria had united with those of the Carpathian, and 
he met a mighty force in arms. His success was won- 
derful. Even his enemies confessed that he was worthy 
to be ranked with the greatest captains the world had 
known. In one short month after arriving upon the 
scene of revolt the last insurgent had been subdued, 
and peace proclaimed. And I may add, — that it was a 
peace that endured while Hildebert lived. 

“Of Hildebert's efforts to reform his half-brother 
I will not speak further than to say, they were kind and 
gentle and unceasing. In one sense he regarded Thor- 
gard as an own brother. They were sons of the same 
father, and that father a king. He gave him a respon- 
sible position in the army, and on one occasion, when 
there had occurred a serious incursion of Saxon free- 
lances over the border, Thorgard was sent to drive 
them out ; and I will say that he did it effectually, dis- 
playing a heroism, a fearlessness, seldom equalled and 
never excelled. I must say this, however. His bravery 
was rather the recklessness and savage onset of a wild 
boar than the thoughtful determination and cool gal- 
lantry of a great captain. Nevertheless, the majority of 
the people applauded him ; those of his soldiers who 
were fond of plunder swore by him, while his brother, 
the king, publicly thanked him. 

“ It was only a few short months after this that 


A Story of the Past . 


8r 


Hildebert the Good met his death while hunting in the 
forest ; and thus Thorgard came to the throne. For a 
time — perhaps a year — the new monarch — ” 

“ But will you tell us,” interrupted the princess, 
“ how the good Hildebert was killed ?” 

“ It was never justly known ; or, if known, it was 
never published. He was thought, however, to have 
been killed by a wild boar. He was found at the foot 
of a large tree, in mid forest, shockingly mangled, with 
a dead boar, of enormous size, lying very near him. 
After much patient investigation it was decided that 
the king had speared the boar from his saddle ; that he 
had then dismounted for the purposes of finishing him 
on foot. The infuriate beast must have had more of 
vitality in him than Hildebert had thought. At all 
events, though the spear of the monarch was found 
plunged through the boar’s heart, he himself must 
have met his own deathstroke before he gave that last 
thrust.” 

“ Was it thought that Thorgard could have been in 
that part of the forest at the time ?” was Rowena’s next 
question. 

“ Nay,” answered Englehard, with a sad shake of the 
head. “ It was known that he was not. At least a 
score of the first men of the realm — officers of the army, 
officers of the State, and noble civilians — were in his 
company, holding him continuously in sight, from the 
time of entering the forest to the finding of the king’s 
dead body.” The old man paused here ; but finding 
that no more questions were to be asked, he resumed : 

“ As I was saying, — For about one year after ascend- 
ing the throne Thorgard made a show of justice and 
moderation in his reign ; but at the end of that time 
the true man came to the surface. Then commenced 
that course of gross dissipation and grosser licentious- 


82 


The Knight's Motto, 


ness, tyranny and oppression, which has continued to 
the present time.” 

“Why have the people submitted?” demanded the 
princess, seeming to swell, and to become majestic, in 
her indignation. “ Were there not in the realm men 
who could have taken the lead in a successful revolu- 
tion ? God would have blessed it, surely.” 

“Ah !” said the old man, with another of his dubious 
gestures. “ If Thorgard had not been wise, he had 
been at least shrewd and far-seeing. He had foreseen 
what a support to him a willing, subservient army 
would be in time of need. One of the first things he 
did after ascending the throne was to remove first one 
and then another of the stern and loyal old generals of 
the army, and appoint in their places tools of his own. 
This he followed up with a persistency and ingenuity 
worthy of a better cause, until he had the whole force 
under his thumb — until he had made it a creature of 
his own. When the soldiers become restive, he forth- 
with leads them upon a course of rapine and plunder, 
sometimes beyond our borders, and sometimes within. 
Thus the soldiers fill their stomachs and their purses, 
while the king replenishes his own coffers. 

“There, I think that will suffice. You now know all 
I have to tell, and all that you need to know, concerning 
the reigning king of Moravia. What remains is action. 
Sir Winfred, at any time when you are at leisure I will 
attend you.” 

“ One moment, please !” interposed the princess, as 
the others made a motion towards arising from the 
table. “ I have one more question to ask. Has Thor- 
gard ever married ?” 

“ Never, as you would understand the sacred rite, 
noble lady. He has taken to himself several wives 
after a fashion of his own— a fashion, I fancy, which 


A Story of the Past . 


83 


may be adopted by others in the coming time. His 
priest denominates it a morganatic marriage. The 
woman is a wife ; but she cannot share her husband’s 
honors, nor can her children inherit from him property 
or rank. They are, in fact, but plebeians, though off- 
spring of a king.” 

“ Has he such a wife at present ?” It was Winfred 
who asked this question. 

“ I am not sure,” Englehard replied. “ But,” he 
added, with a significant shrug, “ it matters little. 
Such marriages are as easily put off as they are taken 
on. Thorgard calls it a left-handed marriage. Doubt- 
less he would claim for himself the knightly right to 
marry at one and the same time with both hands, so 
that he might have a wife who should be queen, and 
another not burdened with that honor.” 

The princess shuddered and turned away ; and no 
more questions were asked. 

Half an hour later Sir Winfred and old Englehard 
were closeted together in one of the chambers of the 
keep that had been set apart to the paladin’s personal 
use. The doors had been closed, and the knight had 
taken a seat. The old man remained standing, though 
his master had pointed him to a chair. 

“No, Sir Winfred, I will not tarry long enough to 
warrant my sitting. I have here a parchment roll to 
place in your hands ; before I do it, however, I have a 
few words of explanation to offer. When you have 
read, you might justly ask, without information, why I 
had presumed to keep the packet so long.” Englehard 
paused, and bent his head thoughtfully. By and by he 
looked up, and with a marvellous light in his truthful 
eyes — a light that overspread the whole grand coun- 
tenance, he said, somewhat huskily at the beginning, 
but gaining strength and clearness as he proceeded : 


8 4 


The Knight's Motto . 


“ Sir Winfred ! — my noble, my beloved master, the 
hour of duty is at hand. You know the disposition of 
our good emperor. You know how fixed and firm he is 
in his own opinion, and in the following of his own 
plans. Some time since he caused to be written a 
concise history of certain events here in Moravia, a 
knowledge of which will be necessary to you in the pur- 
suance of the work he has sent you to do. It was his 
command that this should not be given into your hands 
until you should have gained safe asylum in this castle 
of Langwald ; and, further, you were to have no intim- 
ation of the matters until you should have entered 
within the confines of Moravia. 

“ So you will see I have been but a submissive ser- 
vant, doing the will of one whom you and I both love and 
esteem. And now the last condition is fulfilled. Take 
the packet, noble knight, and read it when you will ; 
and when you have read you can demand of me any 
further information you may desire. Upon one thing 
you may depend, now and evermore while life is mine. 
I am at your service, and the life now mine is yours 
when you shall need it. God bless you !” 

As he thus spoke, the old man gave the packet into 
the youth’s hand, and then, brushing the tears from his 
eyes, he turned and left the room. 

For a time Sir Winfred sat gazing vacantly, like one 
in a dream, into the empty space which Englehard had 
lately occupied. At length, with a start, and a deeply- 
drawn breath, he raised the packet and examined it. 
It was an envelope of parchment, like an official docu- 
ment, and of ordinary thickness. On one side appeared 
his own name, with his knightly title attached ; on 
the reverse appeared a broad seal of wax, bearing the 
grand escutcheon of Charlemagne. For a little time he 
gazed upon the seal, thinking of the wonderful career 


A Story of the Past. 


35 


of him whose sign it was, and then he drew his dagger 
and proceeded to open the envelope without marring 
the imperial coat of arms. This done, he lifted the 
flap, and drew forth a neatly folded inclosure of super- 
fine vellum. 

The youth could not at once lay open the fateful docu- 
ment — for that it was fateful he was well assured. He 
felt, to the very center of his being, that a crisis in his 
life was before him, and that the reading of the missive 
in his hand would bring it upon him. At length, when 
his hand had become steady, and the pulses had settled 
to something near their usual rhythm, he unfolded the 
sheet — two of them he found, folded one within the 
other, with writing, after the fashion of the scribes of 
monarchs and prime ministers, only on one side. The 
sheets were of goodly size, about four inches wide by 
six times as much in length ; and as the chirography 
was close and fine, there must have been a large amount 
of matter on the two lengthy pages. 

We have said the chirography was close and fine ; so 
it was ; but it was, at the same time, round and clear, 
every character full and distinct, and so punctuated and 
sentenced that no mistake could be made by a reader of 
ordinary ability. He, however, who was now to read 
was one of the best scholars of his time, and when he 
had set his eyes upon the manuscript he read rapidly and 
with understanding. 

At first he felt that he was reading a more detailed 
and vivid account of the events which Englehard had 
related at the dinner-table. Nevertheless, he very soon 
became deeply interested — so interested that he forgot 
all else — forgot himself and all present surroundings. 
He read on and on ; his breathing became labored ; his 
bosom heaved with unwonted emotion ; a bright light 


86 


The Knight's Motto . 


burned in his startled eyes ; and anon his whole frame 
shook and quivered like a wind-riven aspen. 

One of the sheets he had read, and, as he laid it aside, 
he drew a deep breath, and arose to his feet, A few 
turns to and fro across the room restored him to some- 
thing like composure, after which he resumed his seat 
and his reading. 

“ Merciful Father in heaven, can it be ?” he ejacula- 
ted, as he took the second sheet into his hands. “ If it 
is so recorded here, I must believe.” 

And then he went on with the manuscript. Ever 
and anon he started convulsively ; big drops of sweat 
came out on his brow ; his breathing became more and 
more labored ; and more than once he was obliged to 
pause in his reading to recover himself. 

Finally the last word had been read. No need was 
there that he should go back to read any part of it over 
a second time ; every sentence— every word — was 
burned into his very soul. And, further, with the 
reading of the closing sentence the last quiver had 
ceased in his frame ; and when he had refolded the 
sheets he arose to his feet — arose to his full superb 
height, his classic face the picture of majesty and 
power. 

A few moments he stood thus, and then, while an 
expression of calm and holy resolve gave a new and 
subdued light to his countenance, he sank upon his 
knees and lifted his folded hands in fervent, soul-sent 
prayer to the Merciful Father in heaven. 



CHAPTER VIII. 


THE KING AND THE TRAITORS. 

The royal palace of Olmutz, at the time of which we 
write, was a citadel of great size and strength. The 
outer walls, fifteen feet in height, and of enormous 
thickness, inclosed an area equal to ten English acres, 
with donjons, and barracks, and stables, and artisan’s 
shops, and other structures inside, capable of shelter- 
ing and sustaining a large army. There were three 
donjons or keeps, the principal one being the king’s 
dwelling ; the second, the abode of the chief officers of 
the realm with their families, while the third was set 
apart to the use of the generals of the army, and as the 
abiding-place of strangers that should for a season 
dwell within the gates. The rooms of state and the 
courts of justice were beneath the roof of the royal 
abode, which was considerably larger — containing 
more room than both the others combined. 

At the selfsame moment on which our hero had 
opened the book of his fate which had come to him in 
the shape of the emperor’s manuscript, Thorgard, King 
of Moravia, paced nervously and anxiously to and fro 
in an apartment of his palace. 

We may remark here, when we use the term palace 
we allude to the king’s dwelling — the royal keep. 

[ 87 ] 



88 The Knight *s Motto . 

When speaking of the whole inclosure, we will call it 
the citadel. 

Thorgard was slightly past the middle age, being 
eight-and-forty ; of medium height ; his face dark and 
swarthy, and his features clearly of the Italian gypsy 
mold. His hair, straight and thick, was black as black 
could be, and his deeply set, evil-looking eyes were of 
the same ebon hue. It was certainly a sinister counte- 
nance-one to be feared and distrusted at sight. 
Habits of gross excess in eating and drinking had 
given him a considerable rotundity of body which 
was neither of healthful significance nor fair to look 
upon. 

His garb, as he paced to and fro across the slanting 
beams of sunlight that struggled scantily through the 
deep embrasures, seemed almost entirely of gold and 
silver. His doublet, of padded linen stuff, was literally 
covered with round scales of burnished gold as large as 
an English half-crown. It was open in front, displaying 
a shirt of fine linen beneath, liberally besprinkled with 
precious stones. The belt at his waist was of gold ; 
the scabbard of his sword the same ; his nether gar- 
ments, of crimson woolen stuff, being covered with thin 
scales of silver. His purpose, in this style of dress, was 
to represent armor, and at a distance he certainly had 
the appearance of being cased completely in metal. 

At length the king stopped by the side of a table that 
stood against the wall, from which he took a small, 
light gavel, and struck with it upon a plate of metal 
that hung suspended from a bracket ~ close at hand. 
The blow caused a resonant, gong-like sound, and very 
quickly a page appeared in response to the summons. 

“ Gustave, has Sir Orson returned ?” 

“ I have not seen him, sire.” 

“ Hast been on the watch, as I bade thee ?” 


The King and the Traitors. 89 


“ Aye, sire, every moment.” 

“Let thy young feet carry thee to the top of the 
northern watch-tower, and from thence take a look 
upon the highway. Hasten, boy, and let me know 
quickly what thou seest.” 

The page departed, and the king resumed his nervous 
walk. 

“ Can it be,” he muttered to himself, “ that Bruno 
aiid Hartrich were mistaken ? It would not be like 
them. They must have seen the whole retinue of the 
princess, and of course they reported it correctly. The 
lady would not stop on the way unless an accident had 
befallen her. Surely, Orson should have returned ere 
this. Ha !” He was interrupted by the re-appearance 
of his page. 

“ How now, boy ? Thou canst not have been to the 
top of the tower.” 

“ No, sire. On the way I met Rainart, of Orson's 
troop, who has returned, with four companions.” 

“ Where is he ?” 

“ He is without, waiting—” 

“ Go bring him in, quickly.” 

The boy went out, presently returning, followed by 
one of the troopers whom Sir Winfred had set free and 
left behind to care for the dead of the forest battle. 

“ Rainart !” exclaimed the king, evidently startled by 
the man’s dogged, listless look, “how is this? Where 
is Sir Orson ? Why has he sent you on instead of com- 
ing himself ?” 

“ Orson of Offenburg your majesty will never see 
more. He and — ” 

“ How !” gasped Thorgard, taking a step forward 
and grasping the trooper’s arm. “ Is Orson dead ?” 

“ Dead, sire — the first that fell of our brave party. 


9 o 


The Knight ' s Motto . 


He went down as a man falls whom lightning has 
smitten in its wildest fury.” 

The king caught his breath and took a step back. 
Twice he started to speak and stopped. At length, by 
a strong effort, he gained partial control of himself, and 
bade the man to tell his story in as few words as pos- 
sible. 

Rainart was one of the king’s most trusty men, and 
had evidently been the only one who had dared to 
approach the royal presence with the story of disaster 
and defeat ; but he had nothing for which to blame 
himself, and he did not think the king would torture 
him for what had happened, though he was prepared 
for contumely and abuse ; but that he was used to, and 
could endure it. And this it was that had caused his 
dogged aspect when he entered. 

“ Sire,” he said, speaking freely, now that the ice was 
broken, “ we set forth, four-and-twenty of us, as you 
know. Little more than an hour before noon we met 
the train of the Princess of Bohemia — ” 

“ Stop !” interrupted the king, eagerly. “ Was the 
princess with it ?” 

“ She was, sire.” 

“ Didst see her ? Dost thou know it was the prin- 
cess ?”. 

“ I saw a lady, sire, as beautiful as a fairy ; and when 
Sir Orson spoke of the Princess of Bohemia, the chief 
of her cavalcade did not dispute him ; but, on the con- 
trary, rather acknowledged that the noble lady was 
present with him.” 

‘‘Aye. Goon.” 

“ Sire, as I was saying, we met the train of the prin- 
cess on a level stretch, at the foot of a slight hill, about 
midway in the forest. There were in the train, as I 
counted, eighteen stout men bearing arms. There were 


The King and the Traitors . 


9 1 


none others, saving the princess and one female attend- 
ant. The chief of the troop was a knight, quite young, 
but of powerful frame. He wore a baldric like that 
which the great emperor wore when he was here in 
Olmutz.” 

“ Ha ! a paladin ! Didst learn his name ?” 

“When Sir Orson first asked him who and what he 
was, and what were his intentions, he answered, with 
wonderful pomp and pride, ‘ A knight and paladin of 
Charlemagne and he said he was on his way to the 
castle of his master— the castle of Langwald. Then 
Orson demanded his name again, and he finally 
answered something like this : Said he, ‘ If you must 
have name, tell your master that Sir Alonzo of Dussel- 
dorf, with good intent and peacefully, seeks the castle 
of Langwald, having been thereto ordered by the 
Emperor Karl.’ But why go on, sir ? They passed a 
few more words. Orson made his demand, with threat 
of your majesty’s august displeasure in case of refusal ; 
but all to no effect. The youthful knight was firm as 
a rock. There was one other knight in the train, whose 
name was not spoken.” 

“ Ah ! Say ye so ? What manner of man was he — 
old or young ?” 

“ Older than the other. I should say a man of forty 
or thereabouts.” 

“ Aye. Well, go on.” 

“ Well, sire, I think there was a challenge from the 
paladin, but I will not be sure. Sir Orson turned in 
his saddle and spoke to Bruno and Hartrich, who were 
nearest to him, and bade them to close up the troop and 
make the charge. Both sides set forward at the same 
moment, the paladin and Sir Orson being the first to 
meet. Ah ! our brave chief went down, as I have told 
you. That young knight handled his lance — and it 


9 2 


The Knight's Motto. 


was heavy — as I would handle a walking-staff. I can 
hardly tell you how the fight went on. I defended 
myself, and that was all, as I was one of six who had 
been sent to keep open a path to the princess. But it 
could not be done. Orson fell, and then Bruno and 
Hartrich went down. Those men of Charlemagne’s 
were picked warriors. They wielded their axes with 
deadly effect. Ten of our number had bitten the dust 
by the time the first shock was over. A party reached 
the princess, and one of our men had a hand upon her 
arm, when the paladin came down upon them like a 
thunderbolt, and, I think, killed all save one. In the 
end six of us were left to face the enemy, and of our 
number one — young Dagobert — was wounded, I think, 
mortally. We surrendered.” 

“ Surrendered ! — to how many ?” 

“ Eighteen in all.” 

“ Eighteen ! Why man — you told me there were but 
eighteen in the beginning. How many did you slay?” 

“ Not one, sire. Hold ! I expected blame ; I knew you 
would be angry ; but I tell you, these men were demons 
incarnate. Our swords and spears made no more 
impression upon them than might have been made by 
so many willow wands, while their mighty axes hewed 
down our men wherever they fell.” 

“ And the princess went on to Langwald ?” said the 
king, struggling hard to keep down his terrible passion 
of anger and chagrin. 

“Yes, sire. The paladin obtained from us a promise 
that we would take care of the dead bodies, which we 
have done as well as we could, and after that he moved 
on his way towards Langwald.” 

“You say ten were killed of my men ?” 

“ Yes, sire.” 

“ And five have returned. Where are the others ?” 


The King and the Traitors. 


93 


“ I can only tell you, sire— they fled as fast as their 
horses could carry them— all save Dagobert. Him the 
paladin took along with his party, treating him very 
tenderly, and promising to care for him as though he 
were of their own kith, — and I am sure it will be done.” 

“ Ha ! Thou hast strong faith in this incarnate — ” 

What might have been the continuation of the king’s 
sarcasm may not be known, for at that moment a door 
was opened, and the page appeared, announcing : 

“ The noble knights of Bohemia — Agar, Sigismund 
and Erich.” 

The trio entered — three noble gentlemen of the 
neighboring kingdom, two of them, at least, carrying 
in their faces the stamp of Traitor. These two— Agar 
and Sigismund — were past the middle age ; medium- 
sized, light-framed men, whose lives had evidently been 
failures. Could one believe their own stories, their 
country had never recognized and rewarded their true 
worth. Bohemia had made a grave mistake in not mak- 
ing them arbiters of her destiny — in short, her rulers. 

The third, Erich, was not more than thirty— a really 
good-looking man, but poor and proud. He was of 
noble birth ; had inherited a grand title, without the 
means to sustain its dignity. Hence he had become a 
ready tool in the hands of designing plotters, having 
been promised that if, by any means, the thrones of 
Bohemia and Moravia could be united, with Thorgard 
for king, and a true princess of Bohemia for queen, one 
of the best offices in the united kingdom should be his. 

The new-comers had made their present visit in the 
full expectation of meeting their princess, the daughter 
of Maximilian ; and we can imagine their disappoint- 
ment when the story of Rainart had been repeated to 
them. 

They did not waste time or breath in lamentation, 


94 


The Knight's Motto. 


however. Agar was the master spirit of the trio, and 
he was quickly on the alert. 

“ Who is this paladin, in whose care the emperor has 
intrusted so great a prize ? Alonzo of Dusseldorf, did 
you say ?” 

“ So said Rainart.” 

“Alonzo is known to me,” Agar said. Then, turning 
to the trooper, he continued : “ What manner of man is 

he ?” 

“ I think,” Rainart answered, stoutly, “ the fairest man 
I ever saw, and the strongest and most ready with lance 
and axe. He is young — not more than five-and- 
twenty — ” 

“ Pshaw ! you are crazy, man !” broke in the Bohe- 
mian. “ Alonzo of Dusseldorf is not a large man ; nor 
is he taller than the average ; and as for his age, he is 
as old as I am — just about my own age, if I have sense 
and memory. There must be a mistake somewhere.” 

“ There was another knight,” suggested Thorgard. 

“ Aye,” added Rainart, quickly ; “ and he, remember, 
was like what the noble gentleman describes as Sir 
Alonzo’s appearance.” 

After considerable sharp questioning on Agar’s part, 
it was drawn from the trooper that the young paladin 
had not directly claimed that he was Alonzo of Dussel- 
dorf. He had first refused to give his name ; and, 
finally, when he gave the Christian name, it was, as 
nearly as Rainart could remember, in words as follows : 
“ If you must have a name, tell your master that Sir 
Alonzo of Dusseldorf is on his way,” and so forth. 

“ The thing is clear enough !” cried Agar, impetu- 
ously., “ Sir Alonzo of Dusseldorf is with the princess, 
but in a subordinate place. The true chief is the young 
paladin, whose name we know not. By heaven ! there 
is mystery here. Soldier,” turning to the trooper, “ give 


The King and the Traitors . 


95 


me a more particular description of this paladin. Did 
you see his hair and his eyes ? Did you come near 
enough to him to mark his features clearly ?” 

“ As clearly as I mark your own at this moment, 
noble sir,” replied Rainart, promptly. “ It was with me 
that he spoke ; to me he gave his directions ; and during 
the time I stood so near to him that my hand might 
have embraced him. Further, he lifted his helm while 
we spoke and wiped his brow.” 

“ Ah ! Good ! Now bethink thee, and give me the 
best description of him thou canst.” 

The features of the paladin seemed to be vividly 
present in the man’s memory. He hesitated not a 
moment, but went on at once and confidently : 

“ My lord, the paladin, as I have already told you, 
was young ; and as I call him to mind more clearly, I 
should say he was even younger than I first said. 
Three-and-twenty would cover every year he has seen. 
He was a full head taller than I am, and there are a 
great many men in our army shorter than I am. He 
was not only of magnificent stature as to height, but his 
proportions were in keeping. I saw him wield his lance 
—one of the heaviest I ever lifted — ” 

“ Did you lay hand upon his lance ?” the Bohemian 
interrupted, in surprise. 

“ Aye, that did I. When that lance struck poor Sir 
Orson it penetrated between the breast plate and the 
gorget, bruising them both ; then passed through the 
upper part of the breast, tearing away one of the plates 
at the back as it came out there. Its owner could not 
at the moment withdraw it, so it remained where it was 
until the battle was over, when I drew it out.” Here 
the trooper paused for a moment ; but no further ques- 
tion was asked, and he went on with his description : 

“ If the youth’s form was perfection, noble sir, his 


9 6 


The Knight's Motto . 


face was no less perfect. I never looked on a hand- 
somer man. His hair, like gleaming silk, was very dark 
—I should call it brown — and lay upon his head, and 
floated over his neck and shoulders in beautiful curls.' 
His eyes were wonderful. They were of the color of 
dark pearl, with the fire of one of the king’s rarest 
opals.” 

“ I’faith !” broke in Thorgard, sneeringly, “ you would 
make this young paladin a paragon, indeed !” 

“ Aye,” added Agar, with a new meaning in look and 
tone, “ and a paragon he truly is. I know the man ! 

Ha ! — stop ! — One question more, good Rainart. 

Did’st mark his shield ?” 

“I did, my lord. Its device was a tree, like an oak, 
broken off near the ground, and lying prostrate. The 
motto was a single word, which I could not read, only 
so far as to recognize the first letter as an R.” 

“ Enough !” said Agar, with a long and labored 
breath. “ If the paladin were here before me, I could 
not know him more surely. Winfred is his name ; his 
motto, Resurgam. The great emperor has treated him 
as a son. Two years ago, when this same Winfred was 
but one-and-twenty — Ah ! thou earnest very near to 
his age, my good man, two years ago I was at the 
emperor’s court at Aix la Chapelle, and there saw Sir 
Winfred — he was a knight even then — in a tourney. 
You might doubt my word if you had not proof of the 
youth’s prowess before you. At that time he took the 
field against all comers. Six of the best knights of 
Charlemagne’s host tilted against him, and five of them 
he sent to earth, holding his own seat as though he had 
been a part of it. The only one he did not overcome 
was Ogier, the Dane ; and he maintained his seat even 
against that redoubtable warrior hero.” 

The king was strangely moved. Evidently the story 


The King and the Trait or s % 


97 


of this youthful knight had struck a nameless terror — 
a secret dread — to his soul. What he feared he could not 
tell ; yet his fear shook him perceptibly. Previous to 
asking any question he bade the trooper, Rainart, to 
leave the room, but to remain where the page could 
find him should he be wanted. 

As soon as the door had closed behind the retiring- 
trooper, Thorgard turned to the Bohemian spokesman. 

“ Agar ! I think thou art my friend. If thou hast a 
thought concerning the coming of this paladin, I 
implore thee speak it.” 

“Sire,” returned the arch -conspirator, “I do not 
quite understand thy desire. What are thine own 
thoughts ?” 

“ Upon my life, good Agar, I cannot tell thee. But 
— say — why — why in the name of ad that is wonderful, 
did Charlemagne send the Princess of Bohemia to 
Moravia — so near to my court ?” 

“ Art thou not pledged to respect his rights in the 
castle of Langwald, and to defend it in his behalf, if 
necessary ?” 

“ Yes,” answered the monarch, somewhat reluctantly. 
“ I did give such a pledge. It was forced from me. 
Karl’s mighty hand was on my throat when I spake the 
words of promise.” 

“ It is plain to me,” pursued Agar, “ that the empercr 
has a plan of his own touching the sceptre of Bohemia, 
and that he will look to you to help carry it into execu- 
tion. He must know that there is trouble in our court, 
— that many influential men are opposed to the Regent, 
Thibault. I think he intends that Rowena shall ascend 
the throne ; and it is not impossible that he has sent 
her hither intending to come on himself at what he 
deems the proper time. And,” he added, with a light 
laugh, “ who shall say that this mysterious paladin, 


9 8 


The Knight's Motto . 


Winfred, is not a long- time forgotten offspring of 
royalty, whom the emperor has selected as a fitting 
husband for our beautiful princess; Karl sometimes 
takes strange freaks into his head, and — Sire ! Is your 
majesty unwell ?” 

No wonder Agar asked the question. When he had 
spoken of the mysterious paladin, and of his possible 
royal heritage, the king had started as though a 
thunderbolt had fallen upon him. He turned pale as 
death, and trembled at every joint. His first clearly 
spoken words were to forbid the Bohemians to call 
assistance. 


CHAPTER IX. 

BARWULF AND SINDORF PLOTTING. 

After the stricken monarch had gathered strength 
sufficient to enable him to implore his present attend- 
ants not to open the doors — to suffer no one else to see 
him as he was — and having seen that he was to be 
obeyed, he started across the room, with an uneven, 
halting step, stopping by an open embrasure, where he 
stood for a time, his frame still perceptibly shaken by 
the wondrous emotion that had so strangely and 
unaccountably possessed him. 

Meantime, the Bohemians, seeing the king deeply 
absorbed in his own troublous thoughts, put their 
heads together in private consultation. The remarkable 
behavior of Thorgard had done more than surprise 
them ; it had excited a degree of distrust that was 
clearly manifest. Their words were whispered so 


Barwulf and Sindorf. 


99 


softly that they did not disturb their royal host, yet 
they were earnest and weighty. 

“ There must be something wrong,” said Sigismund. 
“Your words certainly frightened him. Aye, and if ever 
1 saw guilt, I saw it in his face. Agar, — tell me, I 
beseech you — did you ever give credit to the stories that 
were current immediately following the untimely death 
of Hildebert the Good ?” 

“ And if I had, what then ?” 

“ Hildebert left a wife and child.” 

“ Who both died in this very palace within a month 
after the death of the king.” 

“ I know it was so given out ; but can we be sure they 
died ? Good heavens ! Suppose they did not die ! 
Suppose this very youth — this mysterious paladin — ” 

Agar gave a spasmodic start, at the same time grasp- 
ing the speaker by the arm. 

“ Hush ! Hush ! ’Fore heaven ! I never thought 
of that ! Stop ! Stop ! — Let me think. This changes 
everything.” 

Before they could speak further, the king had turned 
from the embrasure, and was coming towards them. 
His step was slow and uncertain, and years seemed to 
have been added to his age in those few minutes. He 
made one last effort as he came near, and was able to 
speak quite like himself. 

“ Friends,” he said, a faint smile partially lighting up 
his dark features, “ you will doubtless think me weak 
that a bare hint of the marriage of the Princess Rowena 
with another could have so deeply stirred my feelings ; 
but so in truth it was. I have so set my heart upon the 
prize that the thought of losing it fills me with appre- 
hension. But let me not lose heart.” 

At this point he put off the last outward sign of his 
late perturbation, and looked and spoke like himself. 


oo 


The Knight's Motto . 


“ The escape of the princess from the net I had pre- 
pared is certainly unfortunate,” he went on ; “ but we 
have not lost the game by any means. I will bestir my- 
self at once, and if there is power sufficient in the realm 
to the end we seek, it shall be gained. And now, noble 
sirs, 1 will ask you to. excuse me. I must forthwith at 
work wifh such tools as I have at hand. Ho ! we will 
not fail ! When I have anything worth reporting, you 
shall know it.” 

Whatever may have been the desire of the visitors 
for information on certain points, they did not tarry 
then to seek it. Sigismund objected to being thus sum- 
marily dismissed, but a significant nod from Agar held 
him quiet, and induced him to depart without show of 
objection. 

The three conspirators had reached the door, and the 
hand of Erich was on the latch, when, with a sudden 
start, and in a quick, eager voice, Thorgard called them 
back.’ 

“Agar,” he said, his strength and confidence fully 
returned, “ a thought occurs to me. We must steal the 
princess away from Langwald ; and in order to do that 
we must have a true and trusty friend inside the castle. 
Have you— either of you — : two servants, or attendants 
who are to be trusted, and who would be willing, for a 
fair consideration, to make their way into the old strong- 
hold, and there serve us as best they can ?” 

Agar did not appear to understand exactly what was 
wanted, and after a brief pause, the king explained : 

“ My idea, Agar, is this : We should require at least 
two men for the work to be done, as one may have to 
keep watch while the other operates. Your men, being 
Bohemians, and not liable to be recognized by any of 
the old inmates of the castle as connected with your- 
selves, would find little, if any, difficulty in gaining 


Barwulf and Sindorf 


ior 


entrance within the walls. They should ride around 
through the forest to the eastward, and thus approach 
the castle from the northwest, as though they had just 
come from the Bohemian frontier by way of the Zwittau 
Pass. Then, do you see, they should make application 
as travelers, who, having learned at Oberheim that the 
Princess Rowena had passed through that village on her 
way to Langwald, could not resist the desire to call and 
pay their respects.” 

At that point Agar stopped him. He understood 
perfectly the monarch’s plan, and he was inclined to 
favor it. 

“ You would have our two Bohemians,” he said, 
“ secretly open the way to your men ?” 

“ Exactly,” returned Thorgard. “ And I will send 
men who, when once they are in the castle, will not fail 
to do the work given them to do.” 

“ Allow me to give you a single hint,” added Agar. 
“ If Rowena is like her kind she is fond of flowers. Is 
there a flower garden at Langwald ?” 

“ One of the fairest and largest and best kept of any 
I know.” 

“ Then there is the place. Let your men lie in wait 
for her amongst the flowers. Sooner or later she will 
wander there, with no thought of anything saving only 
the beauties around her.” 

“ Good ! I thank you, Agar. It is a happy thought. 
It shall be attended to. And now, have you the men ?” 

“ My Lord Sigismund,” said Agar, turning to his 
companion, “ what say you of your secretary ? How 
would he and Detrich work together?” 

“ Capitally. They are just the men. I would trust 
them anywhere.” 

Then Agar turned back to the king, announcing that 
the men should be forthcoming when wanted. 


102 


The Knight's Alette . 


“ Sigismund’s secretary, Adelmar, and my devoted 
henchman and esquire, Detrich, will be willing to serve, 

I am sure ; and I can promise that they will not fail 
you. You have seen them.” 

The king remembered them well, and asked nothing 
better ; and it was very quickly arranged that the twain 
should wait upon his majesty at any time which he 
might in the future designate. 

When the door of the king’s chamber had finally 
closed behind the retiring Bohemians, the page was once 
more summoned to the royal presence. 

“ Gustave, I wish you to go forth to the barracks and 
find Sindorf and Barwulf. Tell them I would confer 
with them at once, and you will wait and lead them. ; 
Bring them in by my private entrance, and conduct them 
up the tower stairs. Dost understand ?” 

The boy understood, and departed straightway on his 
mission. The monarch, when left alone with himself, 
began again his pacing to and fro. 

“ Bah !” he uttered, after a time of troubled thought. 
u A mere phantom of a passing fancy frightened me. I 
know that Hertag did his work faithfully. Yet why did 
he return me the gold I had paid him ? He said he 
could not keep it as the price of blood. Oho ! Sindorf 
and Barwulf were not so superstitious. Yet Hertag was 
true to me, I know. He would not have sworn to me 
that his work was done if it had not been done. I wish 
he had remained in the country. I ought not to have 
let him go. Where is he now ? Dead, I think. He 
was not a well man when last I saw him. But let him 
go. I will not doubt that he kept faith with me. 
Still—” 

The soliloquist stopped short in his walk, a heavy 
footfall in an adjacent passage of the large tower arrest- 
ing his attention at this point, and presently afterwards a 


Barwulf and Sin dor f 


io 


door was opened on the opposite side of the chamber. 
The page entered first, and behind him came two men 
whom a man capable of fear, and bearing on his person 
property of value, would have given the widest berth 
possible. Even a man unused to fear would have pre- 
ferred that they should travel no road which he was 
obliged to follow. 

They were Sindorf and Barwulf ; a pair of the most 
graceless rascals that ever went unhung ; and they 
would have been hung long ago but for the fact that 
they were of use to the king. Barwulf was the oldest 
by four or five years, being somewhere between fifty 
and sixty years of age. Those who had known him 
from his turbulent, good-for-nothing boyhood, pro- 
nounced him fifty-five. He was of medium height, 
with a neck and shoulders like those of a bull, and his 
head was not unlike the head of that same beast ; the 
closely curling crinkled hair was of a dull red color, 
coarse in texture, very thick, covering the low, receding 
forehead almost to the eyes. Those eyes, of a fiery red, 
were deeply set beneath the shaggy brows ; the ears, 
small and thin, were stuck flat against the enormous 
bumps of destructiveness and combativeness. The face 
was simply a face befitting the head. It was not what 
is generally understood by a repulsive face. It was 
brutal — massively brutal — and even his intellect, such 
as he possessed, might be called brutal likewise. 

Sindorf was as nearly like him as two peas in the 
same pod, where one is slightly smaller than the other. 
He was a few years younger than Barwulf, an inch or two 
less in height, and not quite so massive in his propor- 
tions ; yet his muscular strength was enormous. Bar- 
wulf was said to be the only man in the country that 
could throw him or whip him. 

The twain were the king’s foresters or woodmen. 


to4 


The Knight's Motto. 


When his majesty hunted they bore him company 
When he wanted game from the forest, he sent them to 
obtain it, on which occasions, if they could not con- 
veniently bring it down with arrow or spear, they cap- 
tured it of the first man they chanced to meet who had 
it in possession. 

The king made a sign to the page that he might 
retire ; and as the latter drew near in his passage to 
the opposite door, he bade him that he should suffer no 
one to enter until the two woodmen had gone. 

“ Now, Barwulf, for you and Sindorf I have work. 
When it is done I will give you each twenty broad 
pieces of gold, and as long a holiday as you can, with 
good conscience, ask.” He spoke with those men as he 
might have spoken with two generals of his army ; and 
doubtless he respected them as much. 

The brutal faces brightened, and the ruffians were 
eager to know what was wanted. 

“ Mighty king, make known thy wishes, and if it be 
possible for us to accomplish them, thou mayest count 
the thing accomplished.” 

“ Right well do I know I can trust thee,” the king 
said, in response to the brute’s last remark. And his 
look did not belie his words. Really and truly he 
appeared to treat these graceless rascals with more 
of esteem and respect than he was in the habit of 
treating his ablest ministers, especially if they ever 
offered him advice, no matter how slight. This pair 
were probably near to his heart by many a secret tie ; 
and it is not impossible that, in a certain sense, and to a 
certain extent, they were his masters. 

The king, when he had spoken, stepped to a small 
door in the wall, directly opposite the main entrance, 
and threw it open, saying as he did so : 


Barwulf and Sin dor f 


105 


“ Come, my worthy henchmen ! Here is a cheering 
cup. Drink, and then to business.” 

They drank deeply, and he drank with them. It was 
one of the characteristics of the monarch that his tastes 
and feelings were low and sensual. It did not a particle 
of outrage to his sense of propriety thus to drink with 
these two ruffians. 

“ Now, my men,” Thorgard said, after the bovine 
heroes, with an audacity peculiarly their own, had com- 
fortably seated themselves, “ how would you like to 
see the inside of Langwald Castle ?” 

“ And take a peep at the beautiful princess, eh ?” sug- 
gested Barwulf, with a horrible wink. 

“ Exactly,” responded the king, not at all offended by 
the interruption. “ But there is another whom I would 
have you see first.” 

“Ah ! You mean the handsome young paladin. 
Zounds ! What business has he to be dancing attend- 
ance upon royalty ?” 

“ Barwulf, how did you learn of this ? Has 
Rainart — ” 

“ Hold ! Blame nobody, sire. Folkard told me the 
story. Poor fellow ! he has come home with a terribly 
sore head, and almost a broken arm. Ha ! those fel- 
lows of the paladin’s are terrible men to strike, are they 
not ?” The king had let fall a curse upon the sore- 
headed trooper, and was speaking of sending his page 
to command him to his presence, when the ruffian 
interposed : 

“Tut ! tut ! Borrow no trouble, sire. Folkard will 
speak to no one else. I warned him. In fact he only 
told me because he knew that I was in your deepest 
confidence. Leave him in peace, and let us come back 
to the paladin. What will you have done with 
him ?” 


io6 The Knights Motto. 


“ Can you not guess ?” 

“It is a weighty matter to guess upon, sire, and I 
might go wrong.” 

The monarch took a turn across the room, walking 
slowly and thoughtfully. When he came back he was 
prepared to state his want. 

“ Barwulf — Sindorf — listen : Two men of the Bohe- 
mian embassy — Detrich and Adelmar — ” 

“ I know them, sire.” 

“ Good ! Those men will gain quiet entrance to the 
castle. Then, at night, they will open the way to 
you.” 

“ Ha !” exclaimed Barwulf, eagerly. “ I must see 
them before they set forth on their mission. Sire, I 
can point out to them a secret entrance at a point where 
one not initiated would least expect to find it. You 
may remember, not many years ago, I and Sindorf 
spent a month in the old place. I had heard of won- 
derful secret passes in and around the castle, and I 
wished to find them. For two weeks we scarcely slept, 
and we were rewarded. We did not find the grand 
passage we looked for, and I doubt very much if it ever 
existed ; but we found several very curious traps and 
avenues. One particularly will serve us in the present 
case, since we are to have friends within. It is a secret 
postern or wicket in the rear wall of Hildebert’s chapel. 
It can be easily opened by one on the inside, but not 
outside. There must be other secret entrances, which 
can be opened from without ; but it was beyond our 
power and ingenuity to find them. However, this will 
serve us. I can explain to Detrich how he will find it, 
and he can make his way to it without exciting sus- 
picion ; whereas, were he to attempt to give us admis- 
sion by any of the known gates, the game might be 
blocked in the outset. We must tell our Hungarian 


Barzvulf and Sindorf. 


107 


allies that the paladin’s soldiers will not be likely to 
all sleep at the same time.” 

The king- was delighted. In the exuberance of his 
gratitude, he went to the wine-closet and poured out a 
generous measure of the strong beverage, an example 
which the ruffians followed without waiting for an invi- 
tation. 

“ Barwulf, you speak of a secret wicket in the wall of 
the Christian chapel. The flower garden is very near 
to that place ?” 

“ One wall of the chapel looks down upon it, sire/’ 

“ Could you not introduce two or three men with you, 
and successfully find hiding for them within the castle 
walls ?” 

“ Nothing easier, sire.” 

“ Do you know the men whbm we should trust ?” 

“ Yes, sire. There are three in our own mess. Yoh 
know them well — Isgar, Hallgard and Gerfrid. We 
can want no more.” 

“Good !” cried the monarch, with the tone and bear- 
ing of one whose success was assured. “ Do the work 
which I shall give you, and I will double the considera- 
tion. To each of you I will give forty broad pieces, and 
you shall pay your helpers what you please.” 

“It shall be done, sire, if we can do it. State it 
plainly.” 

Thorgard drew a long breath and set his teeth hard. 
Presently he said, with suppressed fury in look and 
tone : 

“ First, I would have the young paladin who calls 
himself Winfred, sent out of the world.” 

“ That,” nodded Barwulf, with a complacency entirely 
diabolical, “ shall be my work. It will be a righteous 
stroke in return for that given our own brave Orson.” 

“ Barwulf, you speak well. I thank thee. Next, I 


io8 


The Knight's Motto. 


would have the Princess of Bohemia brought hither to 
my palaces ; and the sooner it can be done the better. 
Bear in mind — no harm must come to her. Let her be 
treated kindly, and with all possible respect. Only, 
bring her to me.” 

“ If no accident happens, sire, the lady shall be yours. 

I know the force in the castle, and I can judge very 
nearly how they are all lodged. Let me see Detrich as 
soon as may be, and our plans shall be quickly made.” 

The king was elated. The confidence of Barwulf, - 
with whose qualities he was well acquainted, inspired 
confidence in his own bosom, and he felt that the chief ‘ 
end and aim of his existence was to be attained. He 
would be husband of a beautiful princess, whom he 
would make queen and undisputed ruler over two 
powerful nations — Moravia and Bohemia combined. 
Even the great emperor could not easily displace him 
after he had once gained Rowena’s hand, and brought 
the Bohemian army to his service. 

Agar and Sigismund were called in, accompanied by 
the two men whose assistance had been promised 
towards the work in hand. Detrich and Adelmar had 
consented to serve. Of the two, Detrich, the valet, was 
by far the most polished and accomplished man. This 
Barwulf had known, and with him he had preferred 
that his arrangements should be made ; yet Adelmar 
was admitted to full confidence. 

Barwulf drew them both aside, and with the point of 
his dagger, on the surface on an oaken table, he drew a 
rough plan of the chapel of Langwald and its relations 
with the castle wall. He pointed out the exact spot in 
the chapel where the secret door or trap would be 
found, and minutely described the method of opening it. 

At length the Bohemian declared that he understood. 
Then said Barwulf, in conclusion : 


Wolves in the Fold. 109 


“ There will be five of ns to come in. I shall know 
when you have gained entrance within the castle ; and 
from that time until you shall have accomplished your 
purpose, we of the outside will be found ready and 
waiting for the opening of the Secret pass. Our hours 
shall be from two hours before midnight to three hours 
after.” 


CHAPTER X. 

WOLVES IN THE FOLD. 

Early in the evening of the day of their arrival at 
Langwald Castle, Sir Winfred appeared at the door of 
the princess’ ante-chamber, seeking admission. He was 
not kept long in waiting. 

“ My own Rowena ! my promised bride ! My life ! 
my love !” he exclaimed, taking her to his bosom, and 
gazing rapturously and proudly down into her glowing 
face, “ I have come to claim you anew. I have come to 
once more ask you to be my wife. Hold ! Answer 
not at present. I have something to tell you first. A 
great change has come, darling, and you should know 
it. You remember the promise that good old Englehard 
gave me on the road, — that at our journey’s end I should 
be made acquainted with all that had been so long kept 
from me with regard to our mission to Moravia ?” 

Yes, she remembered. 

“ It was a whim of the emperor that I should be kept 
in ignorance until we had reached this place,” the knight 
pursued. “ Whether he was right or wrong, can make 
no difference now. The knowledge is mine, and it shall 
speedily be yours.” 


I IO 


The Knight's Motto. 


Thus speaking he led her to a seat, and placed in her 
hand the packet which Englehard had given him. 

“ Read this, Rowena ; and when you have read it, 
wait for me ; for I shall return. The evening is calm 
and beautiful, and we will discuss the contents of the 
emperor’s manuscript on the castle wall. What say 
you ?” 

“ Truly, dear Winfred, I shall be delighted to accom- 
pany you. I will read with care, so that I may discuss 
understandingly. You are sure that you wish me to 
read it ?” 

“ Dear love, that is certainly my wish ; and I am free 
to confess it a selfish one. Your reading will save me 
the telling. Yes, Rowena, the story is, in truth, as 
much for you as it is , for me ; that is, our present rela- 
tions have made it so.” 

With this the knight turned and left the room. Hear- 
ing voices in the hall below, while passing the head of 
the great stairway, and hearing his own name pro- 
nounced by Englehard, he went down to see what was 
going on. 

He found, standing by the inner entrance of the main 
porch, or vestibule, of the keep, his old henchman, 
Englehard, with four of his stout troopers, booted and 
spurred, and ready for the saddle. Manfred was like- 
wise ready, having just joined the party as the knight 
descended. 

“ Dear master,” Englehard said, “ I am glad you have 
come. I was inquiring for you. Manfred has turned 
over his command, for a little time, to Sir Alonzo, he 
having consented to ride with me into the city.” 

“ Is your mission of importance ?” Winfred asked. 

“ Of the first and greatest, dear master. There are 
two men in Olmutz — Manfred assures me they are alive 
and well, — with whom we must confer. Through them 


JV o Ives in the Fold. 


1 1 1 


we can reach others. I hope they may be able to come 
out on the morrow and see you. They are the noble 
Count Tancred and General Bernaldo, — two of the truest 
and stanchest friends possessed by the late king, Hilde- 
bert the Good.” 

“ Manfred,” the youth continued, turning to the old 
governor, “ you are sure the ride will be safe ?” 

“ There is nothing to fear, Sir Winfred. The dwell- 
ings of our two old friends are in the northern section 
of the town, and a considerable distance outside the 
citadel. I saw them yesterday, and they will be 
expecting me. Further, the general will see that only 
friends are at the gate by which we shall enter.” 

Winfred appeared to understand the nature of the 
mission, and without further question the party went 
their way. 

An hour later the paladin returned to the apartment 
of the princess, whom he found sitting where he had 
left her, with her head bent upon her hand and the 
written pages lying open in her lap. She started up as 
he entered, with a new light in her azure eyes, and a 
new happiness making radiant her face. And yet the 
whole was subdued. It was, in fact, deep even to 
solemnity. A moment she gazed upon her adored 
lover ; then advanced and gave him her hand. 

Winfred, if I were in a playful mood, I would ask 
you if you still loved your poor princess ; but I know 
your heart too well to feel a doubt ; and I am too 
deeply moved in the present to speak what I do not 
feel. My love ! My hero ! I am glad for you that the 
vail has been lifted ; for I know that you are equal to 
the occasion. Surely you will hasten to open communi- 
cation with friends in the city ; for full well do I know 
that hundreds and thousands — may I not say tens of 


2 


The Knight's Motto . 


thousands — will be ready to give you the faithful, help- 
ing hand.” 

“ Dear heart ! our good old Englehard and Manfred, 
with four of our stout men-at arms, are on that very 
mission, and if no accident has befallen they are ere 
this within the city walls. And now, darling, let us^ to 
the ramparts. The moon shines brightly, the air is soft 
and fragrant, and the scene is lovely.” 

Rowena needed no further persuasion. Elfrida 
helped her to make ready, but did not offer to bear her 
company, rightly believing that on such an occasion 
the loving pair would prefer to be alone by them- 
selves. 

Winfred took the emperor’s missive, and having 
refolded and restored it to its envelope, he put it away 
into an inner pocket, by which time the princess was 
ready for her walk. 

The moon was a day or two beyond its first quarter, 
riding high enough in the heavens to light up the whole 
broad expanse as far as the eye could reach. Not a 
cloud was to be seen anywhere. Over the valley of the 
March floated a thin, fleecy bank of mist, but lying so 
low that the forest trees beyond could be seen above it. 

As we have before remarked, the castle walls were 
very thick — so thick that three horsemen might have 
comfortably ridden abreast on the top. Further, the top 
was made level and smooth with a firm cement, and on 
the outer edge arose a strong parapet, as high as the 
breast of an ordinary man, and more than a foot 
thick. 

Two hours the lovers remained on their elevated 
perch, their conversation being mostly on the subject 
of the emperor’s manuscript ; and as with that we have 
at present nothing to do, we will not follow them. Suf- 
fice it to say, they were happy and content, and yet 


Wolves in the Fold. 


1 3 


anxious. They saw trials before them, but they were 
young and strong, and, above all else, they were right. 

“Wrong,” said the paladin, as they were turning to 
descend, “ has triumphed long, and the people are weary 
and sore at heart. With the blessing of the one living 
and true God, we will strive for the Right. O ! my love! 
what a blessing is the Christian faith ! If our great 
Karl had done nothing else, the nations he has lifted 
from the darkness of heathenism and idolatry into the 
glorious light of Christianity will stand as living monu- 
ments of his grandeur.” 

The heart of the princess swelled with the thoughts 
awakened by her companion’s speech, but they were too 
deep for words. She could only raise her heavenly 
blue eyes to his eloquent face, and bless him in her 
look. When they had reached the sward of the court 
she asked : 

“ Can Thorgard be a Christian ?” 

“ He is not. Since the great mass of his people are 
Christians, and he knows that the emperor will not tol- 
erate the heathen system, he has at times made a hollow 
show of Christianity ; but old Manfred assures me that 
he at heart despises the Christian observances, still 
holding to Thor and Odin as the only deities worthy, of 
regard.” 

This brought them to the foot of the massive steps 
leading to the deep arch of the vestibule, where they 
met Sir Alonzo, and with him Elfrida, the latter having- 
come out to wait for her mistress. So there Winfred 
bade the dear one good- night, and saw her depart 
within the keep, after which he turned with his lieuten- 
ant, and visited the barracks, where they found the 
hardy troopers making ready for bed. 

Five, only, had thus far been detailed as a guard — 
one officer and four sentinels — it having been arranged 


*4 


The Knight' s Motto. 


that the whole force should be considered as on duty, 
to be called, in turn, alphabetically, and to stand two 
hours at a watch. 

Sir Winfred had promised Englehard before he left, 
that he would not sit up for him. It was not probable 
that the embassy to the city could return before mid- 
night ; and as the youthful knight had gone much with- 
out sleep on the road, he stood in need of rest at the 
present time ; and this he felt after he had come in 
from the barracks. He found Sewald asleep in his 
chair, whereupon he resolved that the faithful esquire 
should go to his rest without further delay ; and to that 
end he must seek rest for himself ; for full well did he 
know that the servant would not retire before his mas- 
ter. 

• 


CHAPTER XI. 

TRAITORS IN THE CASTLE. 

The morning of the following day dawned clear and 
bright, and our hero arose greatly refreshed by a 
healthful, dreamless sleep. Not even the power of love 
had been sufficient to visit his pillow with dreams. He 
arose, too, to a great surprise. By the time he had per- 
formed his toilet Englehard was with him, bringing 
information that new, friends were in the castle. 

“We found the Count Tancred at home,” the old 
man said ; “ and General Bernaldo was with him. In 
their company we visited a few others, and when we 
were ready to return, they insisted upon coming with 
us. They are already up, and are anxious to see you.” 

Tancred and Bernaldo were in one of the lower apart- 


Traitors in the Castle , 


intents, set apart to the use of the family of the master, 
and Manfred was with them. Tancred, Count of Aus- 
terlitz, was a man of three-score, tall and well propor- 
tioned, carrying his years stoutly, and, withal, hand- 
some. Bernaldo, formerly a general of the Moravian 
army, but of late years retired by a sovereign who 
feared his influence with the soldiery, was five years 
older than Tancred, but straight as an arrow, and as 
fresh and strong as in his prime. He also was a tall 
man, every inch a soldier, and had been accounted one 
of the best captains, and one of the bravest in the ser- 
vice. They were plainly dressed, yet in costly raiment. 
They felt that they owed it to their positions, as friends 
of the sainted Hildebert, to maintain an appearance of 
gentility. 

The two visitors were seated by an open window, in 
conversation with Manfred, when the opening of a door 
near at hand arrested their attention, and on turning 
they beheld Englehard, just entering the room, fol- 
lowed by a young man wearing the richly emblazoned 
baldric of a paladin of Charlemagne. 

“Gentlemen,” said the old trooper, holding himself 
proudly erect — a posture of body that brought his head 
slightly above his companions — “ I have the honor of 
introducing to you Sir Winfred, who is recommended 
to your love and good will by the Emperor Karl.” 

The old general was the first to step forward, a 
position given him by right of age. He had raised his 
hand, and half extended it, when the youthful knight 
came into the full light of the open window, with a 
genial smile of friendly welcome on his regal face, his 
frank and truthful eyes reflecting the honest good-will 
of his nature. 

The effect upon Bernaldo was wonderful. With a 
sharp, quick cry of surprise, he started back and gazed 


The Knight ' s Motto. 


1 16 


into the youthful face more critically. Gradually the 
situation burst upon him ; and then, with a cry of 
gladness, he put forth both his hands as he hastened 
forward. His feelings were not to be hushed ; his 
strong emotions would not be quelled. Like an aged 
father, who beholds for the first time in his long and 
weary years the son of his life’s hope and promise, he 
took the youth to his throbbing bosom, and held him 
there till the first wild paroxysm had passed ; then he 
moved back, and wiped his eyes. 

The effect of the meeting upon the old count was 
equally strong and heart-sent, but under cover of his 
companion’s advance he had time for reflection, so that 
when his turn had come he was prepared. Big tears 
coursed down his cheeks, however, and his voice, when 
he spoke, was husky and broken. 

They begged the youth’s pardon for the liberty they 
had taken in embracing him ; but to that he would not 
listen. 

“ In truth, my friends,” he said, with a warm, gener- 
ous smile, “ you embarrass me. I am proud of your 
recognition, and still more proud of your friendship ; for 
your assurances of faith and good-will I am deeply 
grateful, and it shall be my earnest effort in the future 
to prove to you that your confidence is not misplaced.” 

“ Dear Winfred, I am bold to say to you, your face is 
a sufficient avoucher for your truth, your honor, and 
your good faith. To me it is as a pledge from the 
upper world, given by the spirits of those whose names 
live enshrined in the hearts of a grateful, adoring 
people.” 

Before our hero could respond to the earnest, heart- 
felt encomium, a door was opened, and Dame Clotilda 
entered, followed by the princess. The two noble 
visitors were deeply moved at sight of the transcendant 


Traitors in the Castle . r 1 7 


beauty and grace of the royal princess, and their greet- 
ings were warm and ardent ; but they were in nowise 
affected as they had been by the appearance of the 
youthful paladin. They knelt and kissed the lady’s 
hand, and heartily pledged to her their service. 

By and by, when the friendly and social relations had 
been established, and all had taken seats, the conver- 
sation turned upon affairs of state. Count Tancred was 
anxious to know if there was any probability that the 
emperor would make his appearance in Moravia. 

“ There is a possibility,” said Winfred, “ but I dare 
not call it a more assuring term.” 

“ Permit me to ask,” interrupted Englehard : “ Sup- 

pose the emperor did not come, do you not think a suf- 
ficient number of the army would freely and willingly 
come over upon our side to answer the end we have in 
view ?” 

“ Aye,” answered the general, with flushed face and 
blazing eyes, “ enough, and more than enough, could I 
pledge for the morrow, if we could but have a fair field. 
Already the king is distrustful of many of his chief 
officers ; and, as a result, he holds his chosen guard 
under abject and besotted tools that are devoted to him, 
while he pampers their vices, shut up in the citadel, 
where they are beyond our reach. If we possessed 
engines of war, we might reduce the place after a time ; 
but every engine — in fact, every arm, appliance, and 
munition of war is within the strong walls of the royal 
castle ; and you should know what that means.” 

Englehard smiled — a smile that surprised all save 
Manfred — as he replied : 

“ Make ready our friends, General, and I will show 
my gallant master how to lead them into the citadel ; 
and that, too, without striking a blow.” 


1 1 8 The Knight's Motto. 


Bernaldo started, and a quick, low cry of mingled 
delight and astonishment burst from his lips. 

“ Englehard, he exclaimed, grasping the old trooper 
by the arm, “ dost mean it ? Art serious in thy declar- 
ation ? Is the old story true, that — ” 

The old soldier stopped him in full career. 

“ Hush ! Remember, the walls have ears. It is true, 
General. The citadel is open to us at any moment. 
When all is ready, the way shall not be wanting.” 

“ Be sure we will not delay,” promised Bernaldo, with 
a warm, ruddy glow on his magnificent old face. “ And 
there is need of action. Even now there are at the 
court of our red-handed king three Bohemian nobles, 
who, I am convinced, are sworn traitors to their govern- 
ment, empowered by other traitors at home to treat 
with Thorgard for a union of the two realms.” 

“ Which they hope to attain by a union between 
Thorgard and the Princess Rowena,” added Winfred, 
with bitter scorn in look and tone. “ At least, so our 
good Englehard has informed us.” 

“Aye,” nodded the old trooper, modestly. Then 
addressing the general, he continued — “ Something of 
this conspiracy I learned at Prague ; and there can be 
no doubt that it is extensive. It strangely happens 
that there is not living another heir to the Bohemian 
throne besides our dear princess. Not a royal relative 
of any degree. So those who are disaffected with the 
regent are forced to look beyond their borders for a 
king. Among them all there is not one whom the 
others will sustain.” 

“ At this junction Dame Clotilda appeared with the 
announcement that breakfast was ready ; and without 
further remark the company arose and repaired to the 
apartment in which the meal was served. Here, for 
the time, serious matters were forgotten, and the 


Traitors in the Castle . 


] 9 


friends gave themselves to the full joy and happiness 
of the occasion. 

Towards the middle of the forenoon Tancred and 
Bernaldo — having been closeted for an hour with Sir 
Winfred and his two faithful henchmen, Englehard 
and Manfred — made ready for their return to the city. 
Every arrangement had been made that had been 
thought of ; and, lastly, Englehard had promised that, 
when the need should have come, he would open a 
secret way of communication, beyond which they should 
be free to go and come as they pleased. 

Towards the close of the day, as Sir Winfred and his 
lieutenant with Englehard and Manfred were passing 
from the stables to the main keep, they were approached 
by a messenger from the great gate, who brought infor- 
mation that two men — appearing to be gentlemen — 
claiming to be from Bohemia, were at the drawbridge, 
asking admittance. 

The young knight repaired to the gate without delay, 
his friends bearing him company. The sentinel threw 
open the smaller wicket, and they went forth into the 
deep arch beyond. Upon the opposite side of the moat 
were two horsemen, well mounted, in every way appear- 
ing to be gentlemen, and their speech clearly proclaimed 
them Bohemians. 

“ Fair sir, and doubtless noble,” said the spokesman, 
bending low as he spoke, “ we are Lorenzo and Gerald, 
two gentlemen of Prague, traveling partly on business 
and partly on pleasure. At Zwittau, and again at Ober- 
heim, we were told that the Princess Rowena had gone 
on toward the Castle of Langwald. Noble sir, I make 
no empty protestation ; but if you will permit us to 
pay our homage to our true princess — to kneel at 
her feet, and perhaps to kiss her hand, you will bless us 
beyond our power to express. Do not refuse us. Turn 


20 


The Knight's Motto. 


us out as quickly as you please ; but we emplore, permit 
us to look upon her who should be our queen.” 

Winfred was favorably impressed ; Englehard had 
his doubts ; while Manfred, neither doubting or believ- 
ing, was of opinion that no harm could come from the 
granting of so simple a request. The result was, after 
a few questions and answers had been exchanged, the 
strangers were admitted. 

And thus, as the reader probably has already foreseen, 
Detrich and Adelmar entered within the walls of Lang- 
wald Castle. 


CHAPTER XII. 

WORSE, AND MORE OF IT. 

vSir Winfred was no niggardly host. As soon as he 
had admitted the strangers within his gates he wished 
them to be treated with all possible kindness and 
respect. Their professed adoration of the princess had 
served to win his heart more than all else, for they 
certainly appeared to be honest and sincere. To the 
questions of Englehard the man calling himself Lorenzo 
— he who had been spokesman, and who was in truth 
the valet, Detrich — answered promptly and intelligently. 
He proved himself entirely familiar with the present 
condition of affairs in Bohemia, and intimately 
acquainted with the chief men, both in civil and mili- 
tary life. 

Try as he would, the old trooper could not trip him ; 
but, on the contrary, he became really interested in his 
conversation. He gave information of value which 


Worse , and More of It. 1 2 1 


Englehard knew to be correct, and further, he offered, 
very modestly, advice which was felt to be good. 

“ Well, well,” said the old man to himself, when the 
two Bohemians had departed, in company with the 
paladin, “ if they are spies they will gain nothing here. 
I will look out for that ; and if Winfred does as he 
promised, they will gain nothing from the princess/' 

The princess herself was charmed by the accom- 
plished visitors. Naturally, the thought that they were 
countrymen — that they were born and reared in the 
land of her birth, and that they loved and revered it — 
had its effect upon her. And then they told her so 
much of the home of her fathers — so much that was 
interesting, and much that instructed her. 

As the hour waxed late, Detrich expressed a wish to 
take a view from the castle walls by moonlight. Now 
it so happened that at that particular time our hero was 
wishing that he could gain a private interview with the 
princess before retiring, so he conducted his guests to 
the vestibule, and having pointed out to them the way, 
begged that they would excuse him, as he had a matter 
of business to dispose of which ought not to be 
delayed. 

When the two Bohemians had been left to themselves, 
they moved on the foot of the steps that led up to the 
top of the battlements, but instead of going up they 
kept on, under cover of the shadow of the wall, passing 
entirely around the inner court to the Christian chapel 
of the Hildeberts, the entrance to which was very 
seldom obstructed. Having assured themselves that 
they were not observed, they pushed open the door and 
entered. 

The altar, on which was a crucifix, was at the end 
opposite the entrance ; and towards that point the two 
explorers made their way, stepping very carefully, so 


22 


The Knight's Motto. 


that the falling of their feet might give out no sound. 
At the entrance to the choir Detrich stopped, and took 
his companion’s arm. 

“ This they call the transept,” Detrich said, pointing 
up to the short arm of the cross ; “ and this, the choir. 
That is the altar on the side ; and there the crucifix. 
Can you distinguish them ?” 

“ Plainly,” replied Adelmar. “ This moonlight serves 
us well. But can we find the door ?” 

“ That remains to be seen. That wild boar of the king’s 
told me I should find an aperture — a crevice — directly 
under the rear side of the foot of the crucifix. Let us 
see. But, first, are we safe ?” 

They listened for a little time, but heard nothing to 
cause alarm. The crucifix was a sort of gray sand- 
stone, like granite in color, but not so hard, and stood 
about a yard distant from the wall ; and remember, this 
rear wall of the choir of the chapel was in reality a 
section of the great wall of the castle. 

Detrich found the foot of the cross ; — it was far too 
dark to see anything down there ; but with his dagger 
he found the crevice of which Barwulf had told him — 
a crevice, at the end of which he could insert the blade 
to its full extent. He inserted it on the left, and then 
moved it carefully to the right, the opening, or chink, 
being wide enough to admit of its moving freely. When 
half way across the space, the dagger-blade came in 
contact with what appeared to be metal. The operator 
gave it a gentle tap with the edge of his blade, and the 
sound returned had the resonance of steel. 

“ Have you found the spring ?” whispered Adelmar, 
who had heard the significant clink. 

“ I have found something, and something which is 
not inclined to move.” 

“ You remember that big brute said you would have 


lVorse } and More of It, 123 


to press hard, on account of rust. Very likely it has not 
been used for a long — M 

The sentence was not finished, as at that moment a 
quick, smothered exclamation from his companion 
closed Adelmar’s lips ; and immediately afterwards the 
close, dead atmosphere of the place was broken by a 
low, rumbling sound, and a current of fresh cool air 
swept Detrich’s face. He knelt, and found upon exam- 
ination, that the broad stone flag adjacent to the cross 
in the rear, had sunk, on the side next to the wall, below 
its mate, and that a smart push of the hand was alone 
necessary to send it completely out of the way, thus 
revealing an aperture, through which a large man could 
easily pass. He knew — if Barwulf was to be believed 
— that there was a flight of stone steps beyond ; but he 
did not stop to find them. He only made sure that a 
man below, standing on those same steps, could readily 
throw back the stone slab ; and that finished the work 
he had promised to accomplish. 

But he did not depart at once. He was curious to 
know if the king’s workmen would arrive at the secret 
pass during this present night. It was not yet so late 
as the hour mentioned by Barwulf ; but he had told 
that individual that he should find the place as quickly 
as possible after his entrance within the castle walls ; so 
the bovine ruffian might be on the watch earlier than 
he had at first thought. Further, he had given his 
word, both to the king and to Barwulf himself, that if 
it should be safe and in any degree convenient, he would 
tarry near the secret entrance until the latter, with his 
companions, had arrived, that he might impart such 
information of importance as he should have to give. 

However, Detrich was resolved that he would not 
tarry a great while. In truth, he had conceived a liking 
for the youthful paladin, and would not, on any account, 


24 


The Knight' s Motto . 


that he should detect or suspect his duplicity. As for 
the princess, he would not have seen her harmed for 
the world. Nevertheless, he did not object to giving 
his assistance towards making her the wife of Thorgard, 
conceiving that the position of Queen of Bohemia and 
Moravia was a dignity that should satisfy the ambition 
of any woman. The result would be a grand thing for 
his master, and, consequently, a very good thing for 
himself. On the whole, his conscience did not trouble 
him. 

He had walked slowly back to the front entrance of 
the chapel, where he stopped and looked forth. Noth- 
ing appeared to disturb him. Pretty soon he retraced 
his steps, returning towards the choir, and as he came 
to the intersection of the transept, he saw a shadowy 
form just emerging from behind the crucifix; and on 
the next instant came a smothered exclamation, and 
the huge form sprang upon him. 

“ Hold !— Barwulf !” 

“ Ah ! Friend ! Is it thyself ? Zounds. In a second 
more thy wind would have been stopped ! Are we 
secure ? Where is thy voice, man ?” 

“ By the host, Barwulf, you came near to shaking it 
out of me. But never mind ; all is secure.” 

“ By the shade of Odin ! but thou hast done well, 
good Detrich. Now tell me, how is it within ? Give it 
clearly.” 

In a few words, and concisely, Detrich told the story 
as best he could. He had learned the location of the 
paladin’s apartments, and he knew where the princess 
lodged. Also, he gave the force of the castle, and the 
disposition of the men ; and he was also able to tell 
where the sentinels were posted. 

“ Perhaps you know how you are to make your way 
into the keep,” he added, after he had imparted what 


Worse, and More of It. 


I2 5 


information he had to give, “ but I do not. They are a 
watchful crew, and not likely to be caught napping.” 

“ Pah !” exclaimed the bravo under his breath. “Let 
me alone for that. Did you not hear me say that I was 
acquainted with strange passages in the old pile ? 
Look ye ! There is another secret pass in this very 
chapel, through which I can make my way into four 
separate portions of the larger keep. Ho ! I am well 
prepared. But, one question more : Do you know if 
the princess walks in the flower garden ?” 

“ I cannot tell you that, not having been here long 
enough to see ; but I should not hesitate to look for her 
there, somewhere between morn and even of a pleasant 
day.” 

“ That is all ; and now, with many thanks, I will bid 
you depart. I suppose the young hero of the great 
emperor will be looking for you, and perhaps, wonder- 
ing what can have kept you. Ha ! if he could know 
what you have accomplished in the time you have been 
absent from him, he might not regard you so favor- 
ably ; and, i’faith ! I fear his sleep might be somewhat 
disturbed. Good-night !” 

Detrich turned away without a word. He did not 
feel proud of his association with the burly ruflian. 
Something jarred on his conscience, after all, when he 
thought that he had, perhaps, opened the way to the 
murder of a man who had never harmed him, and 
whom he had really come to respect and esteem. But 
it was too late now to look back. The die had been 
cast by his own hand, and he must abide the issue. 

He found Adelmar at the entrance, where he had 
been keeping watch, and the twain at once left the 
place, taking their course towards the stables, where 
they saw lights and heard the voices of grooms. In the 
nearest, which they entered, they found their own 


126 The Knight's Alotto. 


horses, together with those of the paladin and his 
officers. They exchanged a few words with the two 
grooms in charge ; then came out and walked straight 
towards the principal entrance to the keep, where they 
met Sir Winfred just descending the steps. He has- 
tened to excuse himself for having been detained at his 
business so long, to which Detrich made answer that 
they had enjoyed themselves famously. He spoke of 
the view from the battlements, being able to form a 
pretty close guess as to its character, and of how 
greatly they had admired the horses. 

The knight was proud of his horse, and for a time 
after they had entered the keep and found seats in the 
most comfortable drawing-room, the conversation flowed 
eloquently upon that subject. 

“ Sir Winfred,” said Detrich, when they were about 
to .separate for their places of rest, “ if we have tres- 
passed in thus forcing ourselves upon your hospitality 
for the night, I am sure you will forgive us, especially 
when I tell you that we are strangers in Olmutz. But 
you shall be rid of us with the first peep of dawn.” 

“ How ! Would you depart without breaking your 
fast beneath my roof? That would be unkind.” 

“ Indeed, noble sir, you shall not call us unkind if it is 
in our power to prevent it. If we have your invitation 
to the morning meal, be sure we shall most gladly tarry. 
A good meal has of late been too rare a thing with us to 
be disregarded when it is freely offered.” 

So it was arranged that the two Bohemians should 
stop until after breakfast on the following morning, 
beyond which it was very evident the youthful host had 
no wish to detain them. 

At the hour of midnight there was being held within 
the walls of Langwald Castle a secret conclave of which 


JV orse, and More of It. 


127 


the rightful inmates, in their wildest fancies, could not 
have dreamed. 

In a deep crypt beneath the chapel were assembled 
Barwulf and Sindorf, together with their three helpers, 
Isgar, Hallgard and Gerfrid. The last mentioned were 
fit associates for their employers — burly, brutish vil- 
lains, yet possessing a degree of intelligence sufficient 
to render them dangerous. They were neither dull nor 
stupid, but a trio of quick-eyed and quick-handed ruf- 
fians, whose nearest approach to the brute lay in the 
apparent absence of soul and conscience. A squadron 
of such men, had they possessed the esprit de corps of 
true and gallant soldiers, might have overcome an army. 
Physically they were tigers, afraid of nothing human, 
yet superstitious to folly, and easily frightened by 
shadows. 

A single lighted lantern cast its struggling, murky 
beams over the group, giving them the appearance of 
demons in council. 

“Listen,” said Barwulf, his voice sounding. like the 
muttering of distant thunder. “ I am strongly moved 
to make a change in my plans, and it is a change in 
every way for the better. I find that the princess is 
lodged in a set of apartments which I can reach without 
difficulty. That is, I can gain easy entrance to the 
principal ante-room of the suite, also to the corridor 
nearest to them on the same floor. The apartments of 
the young paladin are open to me at three points. I 
have been bothered to understand how we should 
accomplish our double purpose if we were forced to 
wait for the appearance of the royal lady in the flower 
garden ; but we will do nothing of the kind. We will 
finish our work this very night. What think ye of 
that ?” 


28 


The Knight's Motto . 


“Good ! Good ! Good !” was the exclamation from 
all, though not in concert. 

“ Yes,” the chief of the demon crew proceeded, when 
attention was again given him, “it shall all be accom- 
plished before the rising of the morrow’s sun. This is 
my plan : Hallgard and Gerfrid, you shall go with Sin- 
dorf and capture the princess' Perhaps Isgar and I will 
help you make the seizure ; for, if her maid is with her, 
they must both be taken, and you three might make a 
slip in silencing the pair of them without doing them 
bodily injury. When you have them secure, then you 
three can easily bear them away, while Isgar and I go to 
look after the paladin. With him and his esquire, if he 
is at hand, as I expect he will be, we will make quick 
work. How say you ? Art satisfied ?” 

They were more than satisfied ; they were delighted ; 
at least, so they expressed it, the thought of the work in 
hand had no terrors for them. Blood was too common 
a thing in their sight to excite them either to pity or 
remorse ; and as for depriving another of liberty, they 
rather liked it. It gave them a sense of power that was 
gratifying. The thought that they were, for a time, to 
have in charge one who was to be a mighty queen— to 
be sole custodians of her person, and, in a measure, 
arbiters of her fate — was so grand in their sight that 
they fairly swelled with the importance it gave them. 

In answer to a question from Isgar, the leader told 
the three special helpers how he had become acquainted 
with the secret passages of the castle. He said that in 
the time of the last of the Hildeberts both he and Sin- 
dorf had been in the employ of Thorgard, who was then 
of high rank in the army. Thorgard had long sus- 
pected the existence of these secret passes, and at 
length, at a time when the castle was only occupied by 
a small guard, he contrived that his two devoted bench- 


Worse, and More of It. 


1 29 


men — Barwulf and Sindorf — should be employed as 
care-takers and stewards. 

“ We had many weeks of uninterrupted opportunity 
for our search. My first discovery was purely accident- 
al. One day, outside the walls, I had chased a hare 
into a large clump of bushes in the neighborhood of the 
rear of the chapel. In the centre of that thicket I saw 
an opening in the earth ; and while I looked, lo and 
behold 1 a man’s head appeared coming out from it. 
The man was Englehard. He had been a page of the 
second Hildebert, and was a devoted esquire of the third 
and last. I hid, so that he went away without seeing 
me ; and when he had gone, I went in and explored the 
hole. Suffice it to say, I found the very entrance into 
the chapel by which we this night came in ; but since 
that time, it had been so fixed that it cannot be opened 
from the outside ; nor could a person outside, unac- 
quainted with its existence, ever find it. 

“Well, that one secret was a key to all the rest. The 
next thing I found was the passage through which we 
are about to make our way. I will tell you more as we 
go. The sentinels of the mid-watch have been posted, 
and it is time we were making ready. 

“ Remember, we take the princess first. If a sentinel, 
or any person whatever, shall appear in our path, he 
must be silenced instantly. Now, light your lantern, 
Sindorf, and let every shoe and sandal be removed. 
Have your daggers handy, but let the club be your 
chief reliance.” 

And those clubs were terrible weapons, of an 
extremely tough, hard wood ; fifteen to eighteen inches 
long ; the handles furnished with knobs or pummels and 
leather wristbands ; the heads being loaded with ugly 
knots of iron. Sindorf’s lantern was quickly alight, and 
the leathern foot-wear removed. 


130 


Hie Knight's Motto. 


ik Are we all ready ?” asked Barwulf, arising and look- 
ing around upon his companions. 

They answered, in turn : 

“Ready!*' 

“ Do you clearly understand ? Has any man a ques- 
tion to ask ?” 

No one spoke ; and in a moment more the order was 
given : 

“ Come On ! Follow me !** 


CHAPTER XIII. 

rr r ntr* ft ISfrrow tprf ■ • • »;*; \< vt»‘ 'r ; >fltj • r *' :)?• i. 

A ROYAL CAPTIVE. 

At midnight, on this night of the visit of the two 
Bohemian adventurers, Englehard himself posted the 
sentinels within the keep. He who was posted at the 
entrance of the passage leading to the chamber of the 
princess was a staunch old trooper, who had served the 
emperor many years, and faithfully, and who under- 
stood well his duty. 

“ Why do you take this trouble ?” he asked, as the old 
man led him to his beat. “ Our good sergeant would 
have attended to it. Surely, you do fear to trust him.” 

“ Heaven forbid it ! No, no, Jasper — it is not because 
I fear to trust a single one of our true and loyal men ; 
but I wished to do it. It may be weakness in me ; if it 
is, I cannot help it. In truth, I am ill at ease. I sought 
my bed two hours ago ; but I could not sleep. More 
than once in my life, ere this, coming disaster has won- 
derfully impressed me. I have had forewarning of 
evil. To-night, after I had lain my head on my pillow, 


A Royal Captive . 


* 3 * 


I began to think of the two strangers who are within 
our walls ; and the feeling came to me that danger was 
near. I arose, and went first to the doors of the apart- 
ments in which they were lodged. They were in bed, 
and, I think, asleep. 

“And now, good Jasper, since thou art here, I shall 
rest with more of confidence. Be watchful, I beseech 
thee. I know two things : First, — the king, Thor- 
gard, has sworn that he will not rest until the Princess 
of Bohemia is within his power. Second, — He will not 
dare to attack this castle. Hence, what he cannot 
accomplish by force be will seek to bring to pass by 
craft. For a little time we must be all eyes and 
ears.” 

The sentinel promised that he would suffer nothing 
to escape his notice ; and shortly thereafter Englehard 
left him, but not to return straightway to his bed. No 
— he went first to the door of the paladin’s chamber, 
and opened it, and looked in. Sewald was instantly up, 
demanding to know who was there. The old man 
explained, and went his way. Twice, before reaching 
his place of rest, he stopped, and muttered to himself. 
He was talking of posting an additional sentinel — a 
watch at the entrance of the passage to the chamber he 
had just left. But he would not give way to such 
fancies. Should Winfred discover it, he might be 
offended. The princess was safe, he felt sure ; and, for 
the life of him, he could not imagine how harm could 
come to his master. He was glad he had visited the 
quarters of the two strangers ; and with that lie would 
be content. And ere long thereafter he slept. 

Jasper, when Englehard had left him, paced to and 
fro, armed with a short, broad-bladed partizan, which 
he carried in his hand, and his heavy sword at his side 
His beat was from the head of the stairs that led up 


132 The Knight's Motto. 


from the hall below to within a few yards of the door of 
the princess’ ante-chamber. 

Half an hour had passed, and he had just trimmed 
the two lamps that were supported by sconces on the 
walls — one at the head of the stairs, and the other in the 
passage — and was in the act of turning away from the 
latter, when his ear caught a low, rasping sound, like 
that caused by the friction of an opening door, or by 
the dragging of a wooden body over the pavement. It 
was certainly not from the apartments of the princess. 
Of that he was sure. Naturally, his attention was 
turned to the stairs ; or in that direction — as there was 
no possible way of ingress in any other. He had been 
assured that none of the chambers of that section were 
occupied, saving only those set apart to the use of the 
princess and her maid. 

Had he waited but a few seconds, and looked once 
more in the opposite direction, he might have seen a 
large panel of the oaken wainscot mysteriously moved 
aside, and a human face appear at the opening thus 
made. Then he might have seen two men leap quickly 
and noiselessly forth and glide swiftly down the passage 
and into the arch of a doorway, very nearly opposite to 
the door of the ante-room of the occupied suite. But 
he saw nothing of this. He was on his way to the head 
of the staircase, wondering whac could have caused the 
sound. 

On his return to the passage, having found nothing 
on the stairs, nor in that vicinity, he noticed that the 
flame of the lamp was unusually disturbed, and at the 
same time he felt a current of fresh, cool air strike his 
face. Had a window at the far end of the passage been 
left open ? He hastened to see. His mission, however, 
was not to be accomplished. Not more than half a dozen 
steps had been taken when a quick, shuffling sound 


A Royal Captive . 


J 33 


caused him to stop and turn. The outlines of a dark, 
burly form met his gaze, and on the next instant, before 
he could lift his partizan, or cry aloud, a cruel blow on 
the head deprived him of every living sense. What 
happened after that he knew no more than the dead. 

The Princess Rowena had retired at a late hour, hav- 
ing held Dame Clotilda in conversation until the good 
woman had fairly fallen asleep in her chair. She slept 
in a large, heavily-curtained bed, in the inner chamber 
of the suite, the old governor's daughter, Isabel, occu- 
pying a smaller couch close by it, while the maid, Elfrida, 
slept in an adjoining ante-room, with the door open 
between them. 

How long the princess had slept she knew not. She 
was dreaming of Winfred — a pleasant dream in the 
beginning — but anon its character changed. She was 
with her dear lover in a deep mountain gorge, beset by 
a terrific storm, with vivid lightning and crashing thun- 
der. The brave paladin had dismounted, and was in 
the act of helping her from her saddle that they might 
find shelter in a cavern which he had discovered close 
at hand, when he was set upon by a band of fierce, bru- 
tal savages, who meant to kill him. 

One of the ruffians, more powerful and more terrible 
of countenance than the rest of the gang, had said to 
her : “ Ha, fair Princess, thou art for our king !” when, 
with a loud cry, she started up, and awoke — awoke to 
find Elfrida standing by her side, with a lighted lamp 
in her hand, and Isabel with her. 

“ Elfrida ! What is it ? Have you spoken to me ?” 

“I called your name, dear mistress. The sentinel at 
the door wishes to speak with me. He has a message 
for yourself, from Sir Winfred.” 

“ What is the message ? Where is Winfred ? What 
has happened ?” 


J 34 


The Knight's Motto. 


“ Dear Princess, he said you were not to be alarmed ; 
but, ah ! 1 fear there is danger.” 

“ Danger to Winfred ? O, Elfrida ! go and speak with 
him. Our sentinels are true and loyal, every one. Go 
quickly. I will arise at once. And, dear Elfrida, be 
sure and tell me all he says. Keep nothing from me.” 

Isabel offered to go with the maid, but the princess 
would not have it so. She preferred that the girl should 
remain with her. Her dream still affected her ; and 
the terrible voice of the giant ruffian had not died out 
from her memory. The shadows of the vaulted cham- 
ber took on ghostly forms in her imagination, and dan- 
ger seemed to lurk in the dark corners. 

Meanwhile Elfrida returned to the outer door of the 
further ante-room, where, with much trembling, she 
gave a light rap. It was quickly answered from without : 

“ Who knocks ?” 

“ It is I — Elfrida. Are you the sentinel ?” 

“ Certainly. How should I be here else ? I have a 
written line for your royal mistress. Open the door but 
a crack, and I will pass it in to you.” 

With considerable difficulty the maid drew back the 
bolt and raised the latch. On the next instant the door 
was pushed violently against her, and before she could 
recover her breath to cry out, her light was extin- 
guished and her mouth was sealed by a strong hand. 
Next she knew that a dim light, like the beams from a 
small lantern, fell upon her ; and that was the last she 
saw, and almost the last she heard, for a thick muffler 
had been thrown over her head by one pair of hands, 
while another pair securely bound her wrists behind 
her back. 

In her chamber the princess was waiting, but far 
from patiently. She had arisen, and thrown on a loose 
robe of embroidered silk ; and Isabel was gathering 


A Royal Captive . 


i3S 


her hair into a coil at the back of her head, when she 
heard the door of the adjoining room opened in a manner 
so different from Elfrida’s noiseless movements and 
manipulations, that it startled her. Isabel was also 
startled, and had turned from he? work when, like the 
fall of a thunder-bolt, two terrible looking men rushed 
in upon them, instantly followed by two others. 

Manfred’s daughter sent forth a single cry of terror 
and alarm ; but no more. Two of the ruffians seized, 
and gagged, and bound her, while the other two, of 
whom Barwulf was the foremost, sprang towards the 
princess with uplifted daggers. 

“ Princess, hold your peace — remain quiet — and no 
harm shall come to you. We will be friendly if you 
will let us ; but if you offer to cry out, or, if you resist, 
we must do the best we can. What we have to do must 
be done.” 

Thus far Rowena had not uttered a sound above her 
breath. Partly terror and partly native pride was the 
‘cause. Her first speech surprised even herself in its 
strength and steadiness. 

“ Sir ! Who are you ? Whence come you ? What 
would you with me?” 

“ Lady,” answered Barwulf, bowing, politely, and 
speaking with wonderful softness for him, “ I am 
the servant of one whose will is law in the realm. I 
come from him. I would have you make ready as 
quickly as possible to accompany one who will guide 
you to a station which any princess should be proud to 
occupy. Tell me first, which of the girls now with 
you shall go in your company ? You can take but one.” 

“ But one have I a right to take — she who answered 
your false summons at the door.” 

“ She shall go with you. Now, lady, let your dress- 
ing be speedily done. Moments are precious. — Hush ! 


136 


The Knight ' s Motto. 


Not a word ! Make ready, or we shall take you as you 
are ! And let me give you a hint that may quicken 
your movements. Your maid, if you love her, is just 
now in rather an uncomfortable situation ; and she 
will remain so until you are ready to set forth." 

At this moment, for the first time, came the thought 
to our heroine, how did these men gain entrance to the 
castle ? Had they overcome the garrison ? Were they 
but few of a whelming force ? If so, what had been the 
fate of her hero ? Even this terror did not deprive her 
of sense. In thought she answered herself : Such a 
thing could not have come to pass without a din and 
uproar that would have shaken the very walls. She 
could not have slept through the conflict. Her wit 
came to her assistance. 

“ Tell me," she said, earnestly, “ how do you expect 
to lead us out from this strongly guarded fortress ?" 

Barwulf fell into the trap. Without reflection he 
answered : 

“ By the same way that gave us entrance. Look not* 
for succor on the road. None can reach you. Ask no 
more. If ) r ou are ready as you are, we are the same. 

I shall not tarry." 

One question," insisted the princess, whose strength 
was once more at her command, and whose thoughts 
flowed clearly. She had gathered from the words of 
the ruffian that he and his companions had gained 
entrance by a secret way, and believing him to be a 
trusted henchman of Thorgard, she did not deem it 
strange that he should have been able to gain knowl- 
edge of the hidden mysteries of the castle— at least, 
sufficient to enable him to accomplish his present pur- 
pose. She believed him to be from Thorgard, but she 
w'ould be sure. 


137 


A Royal Captive. 


“ One question/’ she said. “ Do you purpose to take 
me to the king ?” 

“ I will answer that, and I will not answer again. I 
swear it by the mighty son of Odin — yes ! you are 
going to the king.” 

As the princess turned, her eyes fell upon poor Isabel 
bound and gagged. In an instant her dignity asserted 
itself. 

“ Unbind that girl !” she commanded, with flushed 
face and blazing eyes. “ Cast that cruel cover from her 
head! Then bring my maid hither to give me help. 
Do this, and I will make ready, but not before. Bring 
my maid unharmed and instantly.” 

Barwulf was used to bowing to authority, and he 
started to obey the behest of the royal lady without 
hesitation. But before he removed the bonds he 
obtained from the girls a promise that they would make 
no outcry nor opposition. Elfrida was warned that, if 
she detained her mistress a single moment by any out- 
burst of passion or emotion, she should not be per- 
mitted to accompany her. The maid was a girl of 
strong common sense, as we had occasion to remark 
before ; and when she saw the face of the princess, that 
it was calm and proud, her native heroism asserted 
itself, and she gave the ruffians no occasion to find 
fault. 

Elfrida had brought the princess’ padded cloak, and 
was about to throw it over her shoulders, when Isabel 
stepped quickly forward to take it. There was a mean- 
ing in her look which the maid failed not to catch, and 
she gave up the garment without question. As Man- 
fred’s daughter drew the cloak around the lady’s neck, 
she whispered into her ear, in a tone inaudible to 
others : 

“ Sweet princess, let not your heart faint. Englehard 


38 


The Knight's Motto . 


and my father talked in my presence ; and I know that 
the wicked king is as completely in the power of your 
true friends as he would be if he were in heavy bonds 
within a dungeon of our castle. O, take courage. As 
soon as it is known that you are held prisoner in the 
royal palace, ten thousand swords will spring from their 
scabbards in your behalf. As I live, I believe Winfred 
is more powerful—” 

The approach of Barwulf compelled her to suspend 
her speech ; but she had said enough. Rowena fully 
comprehended, as her grateful look clearly testified. 

At length all was ready for the start. Do not think 
that the Princess of Bohemia was thus weakly submit- 
ting to the will of these ruffians. She had examined 
the case in all its bearings, and had come to the con- 
clusion that there was but one course to pursue. She 
could see no alternative. More than once she had 
thought of crying out for assistance ; but what could it 
avail, save to make her condition worse ? Of course the 
sentinel had been silenced ; and beyond him no ears 
could hear her. She had been caught in a trap from 
which there was no possible escape ; and she must sur- 
render. 

The man called Sindorf now took her in charge, and 
with him went two others whom the princess heard 
addressed as Hallgard and Gerfrid respectively. She 
was led forth into the outer passage, where, instead of 
moving towards the main hall and the great stairway, 
they turned to the right towards the rear end of the 
aisle, where the mystery of the ruffians’ entrance was 
to be solved. In the section of wainscot at the end of 
the passage were two broad panels, one of which was 
quickly moved aside behind the adjacent woodwork, 
revealing an aperture as wide as a small door, and half 
as high, through which Sindorf first passed, and then 


A Royal Captive . ' 


T 39 


turned and assisted the lady, the other two bringing up 
the rear. A lighted lantern was found within the 
secret passage, of which the leader took possession, and 
as soon as the panel had been moved back into place, 
he gave the order for moving on. 

Never mind the dark and devious ways they threaded. 
There were narrow passes between rough granite walls, 
some of them high and vaulted, some of them low, and 
cut through native rock ; stairs were descended, and so 
on, on, on without a word being spoken, until, at the 
expiration of half an hour— perhaps a little less — the 
party emerged from a deep, cavernous hole in . the 
ground, and stood in the shadow of a dense thicket, out- 
side the walls of the castle. The princess turned, and 
saw the towers and battlements of the grand old pile 
close behind her, but she was no longer within its 
grateful shelter. 

She had little time however, for investigation. Without 
a word Sindorf took her by the arm and led her a short 
distance away, down the hill, to another and larger thick- 
et, where were found horses in readiness for instant use 
with two grooms in charge. The princess was mounted 
upon a small, handsome palfrey, very nearly resembling 
her own, the saddle of which afforded her an easy seat ; 
her maid was in like manner provided for; then the men 
mounted ; and very shortly, with Sindorf at her side, his 
hand ready in an instant to take her bridle-rein, they 
set forth down the hill, on the road to the capital. 

And now, leaving our heroine in the hands of Sindorf 
and his helpers, to be borne, without impediment, to the 
palace of the king, we will return to the apartment of 
the castle keep, where we left Barwulf and Isgar with 
the daughter of Manfred. 

As soon as the chief of the ruffians was assured that 
the princess had been led within the secret pass, he 


The Knight's Motto. 


140 


turned upon the girl who had been left behind , and 
asked her if she was the daughter of the governor of 
the castle. She replied promply that she was. 

“ You must excuse me,” he said, his features working 
into a horrible grin, “ if I am forced to render you 
slightly uncomfortable for a brief space. The fact is, I 
must leave you here ; perhaps, until your friends shall 
find you ; and I dare not leave you able to make an out- 
cry. So, young lady, you must submit to be again con- 
fined.” 

Poor Isabel begged and prayed, but to no avail. The 
burly ruffian assured her that he could not afford to 
trust her. He bound her, hand and foot, to the post of 
the large bed ; but he found heart enough to not quite 
smother her. When he had so bound her that she 
could by no possible effort set herself free, he contrived 
to effectually muffle and gag her mouth without stop- 
ping her nostrils. And thus he left her, being careful 
to close the doors after him as he went. 

“ Now for the king’s bugbear — the mysterious pala- 
din !” he said, as he gained the passage where the senti- 
nel still lay, supine and senseless. 

“ Do you know where to find him ?” Isgar asked. 

“If Detrich made no mistake, I know exactly. He 
has the lord’s apartments ; and to them there is an 
entrance from the secret pass by which we came hither. 
It must be a miracle that can save him.” 

Thus speaking, Barwulf led the way towards the far 
end of the passage, and quickly disappeared beyond the 
sliding panel. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

CONSTERNATION ! 

The deep tones of the midnight bell had broken Sir 
Winfred’s sleep ; and anon, when he had begun to 
dream of his beloved princess, and as the dream was 
taking on a coloring of horror, he was startled by the 
outcry of his esquire, of whom, as quickly as possible, 
he demanded the cause thereof* Sewald, in reply, told 
of the coming of Englehard, and of the object of his 
visit. 

The young knight smiled at the old man’s fears ; and 
yet, after his head had again pressed the pillow, he suf- 
fered those same fears to give him decided unrest. 
How long he had lain between sleeping and waking, 
wooing slumber, but finding it not — his first sense of 
restfulness broken almost immediately by the return of 
the horrible phantom of his dream— how long he had 
lain thus he could not judge, when something occurred 
that awoke him in earnest. 

He had closed his eyes, resolved that he would not 
open them again until he had slept, when there fell 
upon his ear the sound of a sharp click , like the snap of 
the spring of a cross-bow, followed by the low, grating 
noise, like the dragging of something over the floor. 
Near the head of his bed, within easy reach, was a 

[Hi] 


142 


The Knight's Motto . 


small silver lamp, which had been left burning with a 
slight flame. 

His first movement upon assuring himself that his ears 
had not deceived him, was to rise to a sitting posture, 
and, with a small point of iron which was attached to 
the lamp for that purpose, to lift the wick until a bright 
light filled the room, bringing distant objects into 
view. 

The chamber — one that had been furnished especially 
to serve as the sleeping-place of the lord of the castle 
— was of moderate size, with a low, vaulted roof, and 
with windows, or glazed embrasures, only on one side. 
On entering the chamber from the ante-room where the 
esquire slept, the bed was upon the right hand, with its 
head against the partition wall, the windows being on 
the side opposite ; and the table, whereon was the lamp, 
Was between the bed and the door. That side of the room 
beyond the door, extending from the partition to the side 
of the windows, was hung with a covering of silken tap- 
estry, which reached from the ceiling to the floor. So, 
also, was there tapestry upon the wall against which the 
head stood ; but it was to that on the opposite side that 
our hero’s attention was now directed, as he had made 
sure that the strange sound came from that quarter. 

Again he heard that grating noise ; this time he was 
well assured, from a point very nearly midway of the 
opposite wall. And as he looked, he saw the bottom of 
the tapestry lifted, and in a moment more an object 
appeared that looked like a human head cased in a 
skull-cap of iron. 

The paladin sprang from his bed, grasping his 
sword in one hand and the lamp in the other ; and at 
the same moment a man of powerful frame uprose 
with a bound, before the tapestry. 

Winfred’s first thought was that old Manfred might 


Consternation / 


<43 


hdve sent a man, for some special purpose, thus 
strangely to visit him ; but a second look told him that 
the intruder was not of the castle. And he saw another 
thing. The tapestry was being a second time lifted, 
and by a second man. He lifted the flaminglamp until 
its full glare fell upon the ruffianly face of the stranger ; 
and of course his own features were in like manner 
illumined. 

“ Villain !” exclaimed the paladin, as he saw the 
intruder start to raise an ugly-looking club, at the same 
time lifting the point of his own weapon. “ What is thy 
purpose here ?” 

An effect wonderful in degree and wonderful in 
character was produced upon Barwulf. He turned to the 
color of death ; he gasped for breath ; his eyes seemed 
starting from their sockets ; his teeth chattered ; and 
his whole frame shook and quivered, as though with 
acute palsy. The hand bearing the; club fell limp and 
powerless at his side ; and in a moment more he sank 
upon his knees. 

In this position, while Winfred gazed- in speechless 
astonishment, the wretch opened his lips as though to 
speak. He did this twice ; and then a change came 
over him. Whether it was from feeling the touch of 
the man behind him or from some mental working 
within, may not be known. At all events, with a move- 
ment so quick that its beginning and ending seemed 
well-nigh simultaneous, he darted back behind the 
tapestry, and before the knight could fully realize what 
the movement meant, he had disappeared. 

Winfred recovered his senses very quickly, however, 
and with a desperate bound he started to follow ; but in 
throwing up the heavy tapestry he extinguished his 
light, and was left in utter darkness. At that moment 
he heard the voice; of his esquire calling loudly. 


44 


The Knight's Motto. 


“Alight! a light!” shouted the excited paladin. 
“ Have you not a lamp burning in your chamber ?” 

But Sewald, it appeared, was as badly off as was his 
master. In his haste to start, when he had heard Sir 
Winfred leap from his bed, he had put out his own light, 
which accounted for his delay. The best that could be 
done was to go out into the hall and there re-light one 
of the lamps ; and this the esquire did as quickly as 
possible ; but it was too late to enable them to find 
either a trace of the late visitor or any mode of ingress 
or egress behind the tapestry. 

The knight knew there must be a passage somewhere 
in the vicinity, for it had been a substantial body of 
flesh and blood that had there come forth and retired ; 
and, further, he must have found a way of egress close 
at hand, as he had not certainly passed either one way 
or the other between the tapestry and the wall. 

“ There are plenty of secret passages in the castle,” 
said Sewald, after his master had briefly told what had 
happened. “ I overheard Englehard and the governor 
talking about them.” 

“ Aye,” responded Winfred, who had been striking 
with the pommel of his sword on the wainscot, “ and 
here is one of them. Do you mark the hollow sound ?” 

“Certainly. Perhaps we can find it.” 

“ No. We may only waste time. Do you know where 
Englehard lodges ?” 

“I do.” 

“ Then hasten and call him. Bid him come to me, 
here, as quickly as possible.” 

Instantly the henchman started upon the mission, and 
ere many minutes had elapsed, the old trooper was 
present in the paladin’s chamber. 

In a few words the youth related what has transpired. 
The old man was powerfully moved from the first, but 


Consternation ! 


T 45 


when the story had reached the point where the burly 
ruffian had been so strangely and terribly frightened at 
sight of the paladin’s face, his breath seemed to leave 
him and his heart to stand still. 

“ Tell me that again,” he said, as soon as he could 
speak. “It was when he saw your face ? Did he see it 
clearly ?” 

“ Yes. I had raised the wick of my lamp, and it was 
flaming like a torch.” 

“ Anddt frightened him ?” 

“ He looked like death.” 

“ What manner of man was he ? Can you tell me ?” 

“ Aye. He was a burly brute, with a neck and head 
like a bull. I think I never saw a more muscular-look- 
ing man. His hair, as I saw it in the glare of the 
lamplight, was of a dull red color, curling very closely ; 
and his eyes, beneath their shaggy brows, were like red 
coals of fire.” 

“ That is enough !” cried Englehard, scarcely able to 
contain himself. “ I know the man. Oh ! I know him 
of old. It was Barwulf. No wonder your face fright- 
ened him.” 

“ But why — why should my face have so wondrously 
affected him ?” 

“ He believed he saw a ghost. He is as weakly super- 
stitious as he is brutal. He thought you a spirit from 
the upper world come to seek vengeance. But let us 
not waste time here. What have the villians been 
doing ? Merciful heaven ! he knew our secret passes. 
He cannot have known the most important, but he knew 
enough for mischief.” 

“ Can you open this passage ?” asked Winfred, touch- 
ing the hollow-sounding panel with his foot. 

“ Yes ; but it could avail as nothing to enter it. You 
say there were two of them ? — They must have gone 


46 


The Knight's Motto . 


far beyond our reach ere this. But, good master, there 
is more to be thought of. If they knew enough to 
reach this chamber, they may have reached another 
place. There is no direct connection of the secret pas- 
sages with the apartments of the princess ; but there is 
one with the end of the hall close by ; and thence, by 
overcoming the sentinel, they could have easily reached 
her.” 

The knight was electrified. Thought of danger to 
the princess— of those men gaining access to her — • 
strung every nerve to its utmost tension. With quick 
movements he donned sufficient clothing ; then took a 
lamp, and hastened towards Rowena’s apartments, the 
old trooper following close. 

The first thing noticed, on reaching the entrance to 
the passage leading from the main hall to the door of 
the princess’ ante-room, was that the lamp had been 
put out. A few moments later a deep, heart-sent cry 
of terror and alarm burst from Winfred's lips, upon dis- 
covering the sentinel — Jasper — lying like one dead, 
bound hand and foot, and cruelly gagged. At that 
juncture Sewald came up with another lamp, and the 
knight bade him cast off Jasper’s bonds, and give him 
such assistance as he could. And without stopping fur- 
ther Sir Winfred and Englehard moved on. The pain 
at the lover’s heart was terrible, and an anxiety pos- 
sessed him such as he had never known before. Yet, 
outwardly he was calm. The great need made him 
strong. 

The door of the first ante-room was found closed, but 
not fastened. This to Sir Winfred signified nothing, as 
he had not known that the doors between the hall and 
the princess’ sleeping-chamber had been kept bolted 
on the inside after she had retired ; but the old trooper 
knew it, and his heart sank to its utmost. 


Getting Ready . 


T 47 


Finally the inner chamber was reached, and there 
a sight met our hero’s gaze that for the first time in his 
life aroused within him a depth and power of agony and 
wrath that made him for the moment weak. His frame 
fairly shook. Manfred’s gentle daughter, the sweet 
Isabel, was found lashed to a post of the large bed, her 
hands and her feet firmly bound, and her mouth effect- 
ually closed by a gag. 


CHAPTER XV. 

GETTING READY. 

Isabel came very near falling when she had been set 
free, and it was a considerable time before she could 
utter a syllable. Though the ruffians had, in all proba- 
bility, honestly intended to leave her nostrils open to 
free and easy breath ; the gag, which had been a thick 
strip of cloth, several times folded, and bound over the 
mouth, had slipped so far up as to almost entirely 
stop her breath. Her face was purple when found, and 
her eyes starting ; but she regained strength and con- 
sciousness after a time, and was able to tell her story. 
She told it in few words — simply, and with a keen 
understanding of the fitness of language. 

Englehard was the first to speak after she had closed. 
He turned to the paladin, and with not a shadow of fear 
on his face, he exclaimed : 

“ Dear master, courage ! courage f I can swear that 
no harm shall come to the princess. Her own sweet 
dispositipn, her regal firmness, and her sound, practical 


148 The Knight's Motto. 


sense, will save her from ill-treatment by her captors, 
while we will save her from the wiles of the king.” 

“Of one thing, brave and gallant sir, you may be 
assured,” ventured Isabel, who had now regained the 
full measure of her strength : “ The dear princess went 
away proudly and hopefully. I had found opportunity 
to whisper a few words into her ear ; and I believe she 
carried with her a firm and enduring faith in the ability 
of her true friends to assist her.” 

“Englehard,” the youth said, laying a hand upon 
the old man’s arm, and speaking earnestly, but calmly, 
“you have assured me that the royal palace is open to 
us ?” 

“ At any moment, Winfred. When we are ready to 
enter, we will not even knock upon the door. Ah ! the 
tools of Thorgard have by some means learned the 
secret of a single system of passages. There is another 
secret which is not theirs.” 

“ Good Englehard, of course there is no more sleep 
for the night. We must do something. You would not 
think of following the ruffians to the city ?” 

“ Sir Winfred, we may look this whole business 
squarely in the face without doubt or fear. It is the 
king’s purpose to make Rowena of Bohemia his wife, 
following which he looks for a sufficient rising of her 
people to seat him firmly on the throne of the united 
kingdoms. Prepared by the hint which this good girl 
so thoughtfully gave her, our princess will be wise. She 
will put forth all her art; and be sure her nuptials 
will not be celebrated clandestinely, nor with unseemly 
haste. Deeming himself sheltered within a citadel 
absolutely invulnerable to any force that can be readily 
brought against it, Thorgard will feel so far at ease 
as to make something of a public celebration previous to 


Getting Ready. 


149 


his marriage, as has been customary heretofore with the 
kings of Moravia.” 

“ And we will help him in his celebration, you 
think ?” returned the knight, entering into the spirit of 
his aged friend, and speaking more lightly than he had 
before done. 

“ Aye,” rejoined Englehard, his stern face breaking 
into a smile, “ I mean that exactly. And now,” he 
added, his earnest mood returning, “ listen to me. On 
the morrow, at a proper time, Manfred and I will go to 
the city and visit the citadel. If Tancred and Bernaldo 
are not there, we will send for them. By that time 
they will have learned much that we wish to know. 
And, my dear master, I give you my word, we will not 
return without having gained intelligence of the prin- 
cess.” 

“ Englehard, you are sure you can safely enter the 
royal palace ?” 

“ Winfred, there is not a nook nor a corner, neither 
cockloft nor crypt, nor a pass of any kind within that 
palace that is unknown to me. Its secrets have been 
mine since my early manhood, and I remember them, 
every one. Further, Thorgard does not knew them. 
Oho ! We have him on the hip ! Let us but know his 
plans, and the rest is easy. 

“ And now, my dear master, we must call up Manfred. 
I have an important question to ask him.” 

Upon going out into the passage beyond the outer 
ante-room, they found Jasper sitting up, and able to 
speak. It required but few words, and little effort, for 
the telling of all he could remember after he had been 
left alone on his post. Englehard was quite well versed 
in the art of chirurgery, and he very soon satisfied him- 
self that the poor fellow’s skull had not been seriously 
injured. He had received a terrific blow, and it may have 


The Knight's Motto. 


150 


been well, after all, that the blow had been sufficient to 
deprive him of sense ; for, had he been in possession of 
any degree of vitality, with a glimmer of sense, the 
thick mass that had been bound over his mouth — over 
his whole head — must have smothered him. 

When Englehard could do no more, he directed 
Sewald to assist the unfortunate sentinel to a comforta- 
ble bed, which Isabel volunteered to show him, after 
which Sir Winfred and himself pursued their way to 
the dormitory of the governor, where they aroused that 
functionary without trouble. 

When Manfred had been made to fully understand 
the situation, Englehard said to him : 

“ There is but one secret entrance to the castle which 
could have been known to Thorgard, or to any of his 
base tools. That is the hidden way in the rear of the 
Christian chapel." 

“ But," cried the governor, quickly, “ no one could 
have opened that from the outside." 

“ Ah, good Manfred, that is the very thing I wished 
to ask of you. Have you, either purposely or accident- 
ally, left the stone slab of the chapel floor so that a per- 
son on the outside could have moved it ?" 

“ Indeed, I have not !" Manfred replied, promptly 
and positively. “ That I can swear." 

“ Have you given the secret to another ? Do you 
know every man of your garrison ?" 

“ Englehard, for each and every man of my little 
force I will be bound. On his honesty I would not 
fear to pledge my life. As for imparting the secret to 
another, not a word has ever passed my lips on the 
subject." 

“Then," said the old trooper, with a long-drawn 
breath, “ we must look for the traitor in one or both 
of our Bohemian visitors ! I am most decidedly of the 


Getting Ready . 151 


opinion that they are direct from Olmutz. One of them, 
I will take my oath, wore a doublet of that city’s 
fashion and make.” 

Sir Winfred was painfully surprised, but he did not 
dispute the suggestion. It would be scarcely courteous 
to arouse a guest at such an hour, and on such an 
errand ; but there was no help for it. So to the 
chamber of the Bohemians our friends made their way. 

They found the door unfastened, and Englehard, 
with: a lighted lamp in his hand, led the way in. The 
beds were in place, and had been used, but no occupants 
were to be found either on them, -or under them, or 
anywhere in their vicinity. The chambers adjacent 
were looked into, but were found empty. 

At the great gate, however, the mystery was explained. 
The sentinel said the two Bohemians had appeared at 
his post not quite an hour after midnight, on their 
horses, the groom, Godel, coming with them, and giv- 
ing his assurance that their departure was right and 
proper. 

Godel was one of the oldest and best grooms in the 
castle. Upon questioning him, it was found that 
the man calling himself Lorenzo, who, it will be remem- 
bered, was the valet, Detrich, had completely bewildered 
and befooled him. Believing the twain to be dear 
friends of the princess, and trusted by the paladin, he 
had been willing to believe the story the spokesman 
told him, it had sounded so honest and so truthful. 

Manfred would have punished the groom for his error, 
but Winfred would not have it done. 

“ No, no,” he said. “ We have all been most wofully 
overmatched and outwitted. As for these Bohemian 
adventurers, I am rather glad than otherwise that they 
have taken themselves out of our way. Had we found 
them, they would have only led us into a perplexing 


52 


The Knight's Motto. 


discussiou, and very likely without satisfactory result. 
We could not have proved a thing against them. We 
are now satisfied that they were traitors, as their 
flight has proved it ; but had they remained and faced 
us, ft might have been different. Let them go. If we 
are not to fear the king, whose tools they doubtless are, 
we surely will not fear them.” 

In the end the groom was suffered to depart with a 
slight admonition ; and as he went his way he was 
heard to declare that for such a master he would be 
willing to lay down his life. 


CHAPTER XVI. 

qgfiW fliWAMBA — 'A SECRET CONCLAVE. 

At an early hour on the morning following the events 
last recorded, Rowena, Princess, of Bohemia, sat in a 
plainly furnished apartment of the royal palace in 
Olmutz. On the road her conductors had deported 
themselves in an orderly and respectful manner, offer- 
ing not a sign of undue liberty and evidently seeking to 
render her journey as comfortable as possible. Once, 
wishing that she might be left alone with her maid, she 
had asked Sindorf to let go her rein, at the same time 
promising that she would make no effort to escape. 
And this he had done for a time ; but when they had 
arrived within the limits of the suburbs, he again took 
his place at her side, and kept it until they had entered 
within the ponderous gates of the citadel. 

The royal keep had been entered by a postern, 
where two sentinels had been found, together with a 


Wamba — A Secret Conclave. 153 


messenger. The latter, who was sound asleep at the 
time, was aroused by a kick, arid dispatched to inform 
Dame Grissel that she was wanted. A considerable 
time was consumed in waiting for the dame ; and when 
she at length came, it was in no very pleasant mood. A 
few whispered words from Sindorf, however, wrought a 
speedy change in her manner. 

The glare of a flaming torch fell upon the woman’s 
face, revealing features which, though not repulsive, 
were far from attractive. She was beyond middle age ; 
above the common statute of her sex ; arid large and 
strong of limb in proportion. She answered to the name 
of Grissel. 

When Sindorf had helped the princess from her sad- 
dle, Dame Grissel came forward and took her by the 
hand. The first impulse of the gentle maiden — and it 
was strong — was to reject the hand of the woman with 
that face ; but, luckily, her second thought was better. 
It occurred to her that, for the time, the woman was prob- 
ably to be her mistress, — or, at least, mistress of her 
treatment ; and she might herself make that treatment 
mild and gentle, or severe and cruel, as she should elect. 
So she gave to Grissel her hand, and strove very hard 
to wear a kindly, loving look. 

And the look, clearly revealed in the bright torch- 
light, had an immediate effect. Evidently the woman 
had been prepared for either sharp and angry words, or 
haughty and disdainful reserve ; but this gentle, win- 
ning look, and the hand resting with seeming trust in 
her strong, hard grasp, called into action at once the 
very best qualities of her nature. 

“ Noble lady, you will come with me. Comfortable 
apartments are ready for you, where you shall want for 
nothing that my poor efforts can provide." 

“ Good Grissel, — if I may call you so — ” 


154 


The Knight ' s Motto. 


“ Yes. That is my name ; though you may not find 
me so good as you could wish.” 

“ Certainly,” responded the princess, now able to call 
a real smile to her face with but little effort, “ I trust I 
shall give you no occasion to be otherwise than good to 
me. But what I wished to say was, — This is my maid, 
Elfrida. Let me hope that she may be permitted to 
bear me company.” 

“ Certainly, lady,” replied the dame, speaking even 
more kindly than before. “For the present I have no 
orders to the contrary ; and probably I shall not have. 
Of course she will come with you.” 

The princess noticed that Sindorf, and one other man, 
followed close behind her as she and Elfrida pursued 
their way with Grissel ; and so they continued to do 
until they had ascended a long flight of winding stairs ; 
and passed through several passages, across two or three 
broad halls; and finally turned into a small apartment, 
the door of which was closed behind them, and as Elfrida 
who was slightly in the rear, plainly heard, also locked. 
After that Sindorf and his companion were seen no 
more. 

From this first apartment they passed on to a second 
and to a third, in the last of which Grissel stopped and 
turned. It was an apartment of moderate size, plainly, 
but comfortably, furnished, one of its sides being pierced 
by a row of loopholes, which revealed a wall of extra- 
ordinary thickness ; while the other three were hung 
with faded tapestry considerably the worse for wear. 

“ This, lady, is for the present your own private 
chamber,” said Grissel, fixing the torch, which she had 
taken from one of the men, into an iron socket that 
extended from one of the walls. “ Beyond the tapestry 
on that side,” pointing to the right as they stood facing 
the loopholes, “ is your bedroom, and another apart- 


Wamba — A Secret Conclave. 


55 


ment which is at your service. With what is on the 
other side you have nothing to do.” 

Here the woman stopped and seemed to consider. 
Presently she looked up and with a look more hard and 
stern than had previously accompanied her speech, she 
resumed : 

“ Now, princess, let us understand one another. I 
have no wish to make you uncomfortable, nor to give 
you a single moment of unrest. I wish, on the contrary, 
to see you happy and contented ; and I will do all I can 
to make you so consistent with my duty. Ask what 
you will, and I will grant it if I can ; but beware that 
you do not ask me to betray the master whom I serve 
and whose bread I eat.” 

“ You speak of Thorgard,” suggested the princess, 
with a powerful effort to keep back her utter disgust at 
thought of the man. 

“ Of the king — yes. He is my master, as he is master 
of all within his realm ; and well it is for those who 
recognize and respect his authority. Should you so far 
forget yourself as to ask of me that I should betray the 
trust he has kindly given me, you would make of me an 
enemy.” 

“ Fear not, good Grissel,” said our heroine, willing to 
humor the woman’s scruples, and certainly desiring not 
to offend her. “ There is no danger that I shall ask of 
you anything of the kind. If I can by any means retain 
your friendship, be sure I shall do so.” 

The dame thanked her, and after a few further 
remarks in the same strain, she said : 

“ Now, lady, I will leave you to your rest. I will 
show you your couch, and I will remove this torch and 
furnish you with a lamp. Will you come with me ?” 

Thus speaking, she turned to the tapestry beyond 
which was the bed-chamber, and lifted it away, reveal- 


i5^ 


The Knight's Motto. 


in g a door behind it. This door she pushed open and 
went in, a moment later coming forth with a small sil- 
ver lamp in her hand, which she lighted at the torch. 
Then she returned to the further chamber, whither the 
princess and Elfrida followed her. 

The apartment was of the same size as the other, and 
had in it two beds — one large and heavily curtained, the 
other smaller and plain. 

“Here,” said Grissel, “you can rest if you feel so 
inclined. I would bring you another lamp, for the outer 
room, but it will soon be day, and you will not need it.” 
She then pointed out where fresh water would be found^ 
and also wine ; and she offered, if it was wanted, to 
bring refreshments. The princess kindly thanked her, 
but she did not want it. 

And then the dame left them to themselves. They 
heard her open and close the door of the outer room 
and heard a heavy key turned in its lock. 

A few words the mistress spoke to her maid, to which 
the responses were as brief as possible. The princess 
cared not to converse, and Elfrida dared not. In her 
great sympathy for her beloved lady she feared that her 
speech would quickly turn to weeping ; and she would 
not weep if she could help it — at least not while the 
chief sufferer maintained her quiet calmness. 

Rowena had found a seat in a large, softly padded 
chair, and there, after a time, she fell asleep. She was 
very weary, and she slept for a time soundly, while her 
maid dozed and started up from horrible dreams by 
turn. And at length the mistress dreamed ; and, for a 
wonder, her dreaming was pleasant. She dreamed of 
her dear lover — that he was leading her in a beautiful 
garden, and pointing out to her those flowers that told 
of love and marriage. Anon he stopped, and took her 
to his bosom and imprinted a kiss upon her lips ; and 


JV amba—A Secret Conclave. 


57 


in the plenitude of her joy she awoke — awoke to find 
the light of day streaming in through the embrasures, 
and Elfrida standing by her side, with a hand on her 
shoulder. 

“ Dear mistress ! some one is coming ! Hark !” 

The princess listened, and heard the snap of the key 
in the lock of the outer door, and ere long thereafter 
Grissel appeared, followed by two female servants, one 
of whom bore a salver on which was food in abundance, 
and of agreeable look ; the other bringing drink, and 
likewise napkins. 

When the food and drink had been placed upon a low 
table, the dame conducted the princess to a small 
apartment, leading out from her chamber, where were 
all the requirements for bathing and for toilet. 

And even now the captive had no question to ask. 

Once or twice Grissel looked as though she expected 
to be questioned. Aye, she clearly enough gave her 
beautiful charge opportunity to ask at her leisure ; but 
she was doomed to disappointment. Nothing that 
could signify a desire for knowledge fell from Row- 
ena’s lips ; and in the end, the good dame did not fail 
to manifest her disgust. She sent her helpers away 
with a sharp command, and presently followed them, 
with head erect, and her lips shut like a vise. 

She had evidently come prepared for a grand gossip. 
She would have imparted to the princess such informa- 
tion as she could let go without wrong to her master ; 
and, in return, she had probably expected the captive’s 
entire life-story ; and to go away no wiser than she 
came, was hard indeed. 

The princess and her maid, notwithstanding the ter- 
rible ordeal through which they were passing, ate 
heartily ; and they had just finished their meal as we 
looked in upon them in the beginning. 


158 


The Knight's Motto. 


It was at this same time — when the captives had 
moved back from their morning meal — that the king 
entered his private closet, the information having been 
brought to him by his page that Sindorf had arrived, 
with the Princess of Bohemia safely in charge. He had 
performed his toilet in haste, but he had not forgotten 
the trappings of royalty. There was gold on his breast, 
and gold on the skirts of his doublet, and gold upon the 
fastenings of his sandals ; and the gleaming of pre- 
cious stones lent its sheen and glitter to the dazzling 
effect. 

“ Ho ! ho ! brother Thorgard ! Of a verity thou art 
decked as is becoming to thee. Hast studied the sweet 
lilies of the vale and the blossoms of the orange tree ? 
I’ faith ! thou hast copied them to the life in thy per- 
sonal appearance. Ah ! youth ! youth ! when will thy 
follies have an end ? But tell me, brother, what is the 
occasion of this masquerade? Hast a new gazelle in 
thy menagerie ?” 

“ Aye, Wamba, that have I — the sweetest and the 
fairest of all the gazelles in Bohemia.” 

‘‘Oho ! thy hunters have brought in rare game !” 

“Yes, Wamba. The Princess of Bohemia is even 
now within my palace. What think ye of that ?” 

“ Shall I tell thee honestly, my brother ?” And the 
face of the jester, as he thus spoke, became solemn and 
serious. 

“ Aye, Wamba, let’s have thine inmost thoughts.” 

“ Thorgard,” the quaint being responded, slowly, 
and with a significant nod of his enormous head, “ when 
the Princess Rowena shall have found a place on the 
throne, thy reign is done !” Then he added, more 
lightly : “ But boys will be fools. If thy heart is set 

upon this thing, I fancy no plea of mine could turn you 
from your purpose.” 


Wamba — A Secret Conclave. 159 


“ Fear not, Wamba. If I take a wife, she shall not 
supplant thee in my regard. Go thy way and be happy. 
Thou shalt have thy fill of sport ere long.” 

“ Aye, that shall I ! O ! rare, rare sport !” 

Wamba was the court jester — a man whose y.ears 
were not known. He might have been three-score, and 
no more ; yet some there were who said he was three- 
score-and-ten. He was terribly misshapen — a form that 
might have stood beside the ordinary stature of man, 
was doubled and twisted, with a hump on the back and 
a hump on the breast, until he stood but a dwarf. His 
arms were of exceeding length, and of great strength, 
his hands reaching very near to the floor as he stood at 
his utmost height. His head was large and full ; and 
his face, for a wonder, w r as really good looking. It was 
a remarkably intelligent face, and though running over 
at times with richest humor, that face, when at rest,, 
wore a look of sorrow — the look of a man who had a 
pain laid away in his heart. 

Wamba had been a page of the second Hildebert. 
By the time Hildebert the Good had come to the throne, 
he had developed into a jester and a buffoon, which 
position he had occupied ever since. 

“ Wamba !” called the king, as the jester moved to 
turn away ; “ I have a commission for thee, and an 
honorable. Thou shalt compose a poem, setting forth 
the beauties and the virtues of the Princess of Bohemia. 
Rowena, her name is called. I would have thee do thy 
best.” 

“ Shall I read it at thy marriage, O king ?” 

“ Yes, but at the feast after the knot has been tied.” 

“ Mighty man, wearer of a crown, at the feast that 
follows thy wedding with the beautiful princess I will 
surprise doctors of science and of art. Oho ! A rare 
poem will I compose. I will haste me, even now, and 


i6o 


The Knight's Motto . 


study for it. But, say, when will thy marriage take 
place ?” 

“ What day is to-day ?” 

“ It is, by the calendar, Woden’s day.” 

“ Then by Woden’s great son ! the marriage shall be 
celebrated on the morrow. That is Thor’s day — the 
day of my own namesake. To-morrow it shall be. Let 
the sun go down, and by the light of a thousand flam- 
beaux the wedding shall take place. Thou wilt be pre- 
pared, good Wamba.” 

“ Fear not, dread sovereign. Oho ! I will entertain 
thee — and thy guests with thee — as never monarch 
was entertained before. For the present, my son, fare 
thee well.” 

And with this the humpback shuffled from the apart- 
ment. Not far away, in one of the rear passages lead- 
ing up from the private postern, he met Sindorf, whom 
he immediately stopped. 

“ Detain me not, Wamba. I must hasten to the 
king.” 

“ And I am just come from the king. He has been 
telling me of the Princess of Bohemia and of the com- 
ing marriage. Tell me, good Sindorf, in few words, how 
you managed to capture her.” 

Men of Sindorf’s stamp held the quaint old dwarf in 
a holy dread. They believed him to be in direct com- 
munion with the spirits of both the upper and the 
nether world. He had told them things that no mortal 
man, unaided by mystic power, could have gained. 
Especially did Sindorf and Barwulf dread and fear 
him ; and there had been times when they would have 
killed him had the courage been theirs. This fact 
Wamba knew, and his laughing at them, and inviting 
them to try their skill upon him, as they had tried it 
on others, still further awed and mystified them. 


Wamba — A Secret Conclave . 161 


On the present occasion the ruffian did not refuse to 
respond to the jester’s request, and perhaps he felt a 
pride in telling 1 to the sharp-eyed soothsayer the story 
of the marvellous exploit of Barwulf and himself. At 
all events, he related the principal incidents of the 
adventure from beginning to end. The adroit manner 
in which, with the assistance of Detrich and Adelmar, 
they had gained entrance to Langwald Castle was 
certainly worth exposing ; and thence he went on to 
the end. 

“ You came away with the princess,” said the hunch- 
back, his face wrought upon by a fearful emotion ; 
“ and what became of Barwulf ?” 

“ O ! there was another. But I must not tarry 
longer.” 

“ You mean the young paladin ?” demanded Wamba, 
holding the ruffian by the skirt of his frock. 

“ Yes. Barwulf went to find him. Now let me- — ” 

‘‘Go !” shouted the dwarf, finishing the sentence for 
him ; and at the same time he turned and sped away 
as fast as his strangely twisted legs would carry him. 

Down into the court of the royal keep Wamba made 
his way, and thence to a far part of the citadel, to a 
small donjon wherein were offices that had aforetime 
been occupied by trusty officers of the army when Hil- 
debert the Good was on the throne. To the extreme rear 
part of the building he made his way, coming at length 
to a door which refused to open at his touch. He 
waited a few seconds and then knocked, first a simple 
alarm, then a series of knocks, three, five and seven, 
given scarcely above a touch of the fingers’ ends. 

A moment later a voice within demanded : 

“ Is it Wamba ?” 

A -bolt was moved, then the door was opened, and the 
dwarf slipped quickly in, the way being instantly closed 


62 


The Knight's Motto. 


and secured behind him. In the room to which he had 
thus gained entrance were four of our old friends, 
together with three strangers — strangers to us, but not 
to Wamba. 

Count Tancred and General Bernaldo were there ; 
also old Englehard and Manfred. The other three 
were men past the middle-age — knights and nobles, 
who had been, in other years, loyal friends and hench- 
men of the good Hildebert. 

“ Ah ! Wamba ! We have been expecting you. Hast 
seen the king this morning ?” 

“ First,” said the jester, in an almost breathless eager- 
ness, “ answer me. What of our chief ? Where is the 
paladin ?” 

“ Safe ! Safe, good Wamba. Not a hair of his noble 
head has been touched, though danger came ver) T near 
to him.” 

“ Thank heaven for that ! Yes, I have seen the king. 
I left him to come hither, and met Sindorf on the way. 
Thorgard has set tomorrow evening for his marriage.” 

“ He will not change his mind, and hasten the 
event ?” 

“ No. I will not let him, I can promise you that. We 
have the hours until the setting of the morrow’s sun for 
our work. Bernaldo, how do you find it at the camp ?” 

“But one voice is heard there,” the old general 
answered. “ When the decisive moment shall come, 
and men must declare themselves, not a hand will be 
raised for him who has outraged and disgraced us.” 

Old Englehard was the next to speak. Having 
related to the jester Sir Winfred’s adventure with 
Barwulf, and having learned from him who were the 
two Bohemians that had helped the ruffians in gaining 
entrance to the Castle of Langwald, he asked after the 


Barwulf's Frightful Report. 


63 


princess. Wamba had not seen her, but he meant to do 
so ere long. 

“ Good Wamba,” the old trooper implored, with tear- 
ful earnestness, “ you will not fail to make your way to 
her presence ?” 

“ I will not.” 

And you will comfort her. Tell her — ” 

“ Enough, my dear Englehard. I shall know what to 
say when I see her. Be sure I will not leave her in 
doubt or suspense. Ho ! here comes others.” 

Yes, others were coming ; and in that faraway apart- 
ment a plan was to be perfected for the redemption of a 
kingdom. 


CHAPTER XVII. 
barwulf’s frightful report. 

The king, after his jester had left him, paced to and 
fro for a time in thoughtful mood. At length he 
stopped and gazed into vacancy with a troubled look on 
his dark, sinister face. 

“By my life !” he muttered to himself, “ I would give 
much to know what has come over Wamba ! Can he 
be a traitor ? I had half a mind to ask him to spy for me 
among the old officers of the army, but I dared not do 
it. But — no, no, I will not doubt him yet. There are- 
enough known to give me occupation without suspect- 
ing those who may be true. I will trust the jester yet. 
I shall need him.” 

The monarch had started once more to pace the 
floor, and the name of Sindorf was on his lips, when a 
page appeared and announced the very individual. 


i64 


The Knight's Motto. 


“Ho, Sindorf, I have waited for you.” 

“ I did not dare disturb you earlier, sire.” 

“Ah, with such report as was yours to make, you 
might have found me in my bed. But it is well. Thou 
hast brought the princess. Tell me, how did she bear 
it? I have not Seen her yet. I wished first to know 
what manner of female I am to meet. Tell me, Sindorf 
— tell me all about it.” 

The king seated himself and pointed out a seat to his 
companion. There was no standing upon ceremony 
with such helpers as that. Sindorf took the proffered 
seat, and went on with his story. He told how 
himself and comrades had gained entrance within Lang- 
wald Castle and how Barwulf had led them, without 
trouble, to the apartments of the princess. He said 
they had hardly expected to gain entrance so soon; 
but the Bohemians had been prompt in their move- 
ments, and the secret door, or trap, of the chapel had 
been foutid unfastened and set free when they arrived. 

“ So all we had to do,” he said, “ was to enter and 
proceed to our work.” 

Thorgard was greatly pleased by Sindorf s account 
of the behavior of the princess. He listened patiently 
to the end — to the point when the lady had made ready 
to leave her chamber, and there he eagerly interrupted. 

“ Sindorf, do you think it possible that the thought of 
being queen of the United Kingdom is not displeasing 
to her? She knew for what she was wanted? Bar- 
wulf, you say, had told her plainly who sent him, and 
for what ?” 

“Yes, sire, she understood it all.” 

“ And do you think she came willingly ?” 

“ As I live, sire, it appeared so to me. She certainly 
made no Opposition ; nor did she waste breath in plead- 
ing. I don’t remember that she pleaded at all, only 


Barwulf' s Frightftil Report . 165 


that she and her maid might be well treated ; and as 
for tears, I didn’t see one on her pretty face.” 

“And she did not trouble you with questions?” 

“ Scarcely a question, sire.” 

“ Then say — you have eyes, Sindorf ; and you have 
understanding — what think you of her disposition in 
coming hither ? May I hope that she will take kindly 
to the thought of being queen ?” 

The ruffian had no desire to deceive the monarch, 
though the wish was present to please him ; and he 
knew it would please him much to be assured that the 
beautiful princess was likely to be a willing wife ; but 
when he came to think — to reflect upon all he had seen 
and heard — when he remembered the lady’s pride and 
dignity, and her calm and haughty reserve— when he 
called it all to mind, he dared not give the king the 
hope he craved. 

“ Indeed, sire,” he said, after serious reflection, “ I 
would not deceive you ; nor would I have you deceive 
yourself. The beauty was calm and quiet, as I have 
told you ; but it was the calmness of pride. She 
seemed too proud and haughty to lower herself to the 
level of asking favors at our hands. I wish you could 
see Barwulf. He saw her more closely than I did. It 
was he who brought her to terms in her chamber.” 

“ But you brought her hither. You were with her on 
the road.” 

“ Yes ; but I would not dare to say that she came 
willingly. In truth, she gave me the impression that 
her wonderful pride upheld her. However, you can 
judge when you see her. Be sure she will not be back- 
ward in speaking. She will speak to you as she would 
not speak to us.” 

“ Right ! You are right, good Sindorf. Oho ! let 
her speak as she will, I will not care. She is in my 


1 66 


The Knight's Motto. 


power, and no other power of earth can take her from 
me. She will be my queen before the night of the 
morrow is passed. But,” with a start, and a look of 
alarm, “ what of Barwulf ? Where is he ?” 

“That is what puzzles me, sire. He left me, when 
he had seen me safely on my way with my lovely 
charge, to go to the chamber of the young paladin. 
Detrich had told him exactly what apartments the 
youth occupied, and he assured me he could reach them 
without trouble. He said the same passage by which 
we had reached the suite of the princess would lead 
him to these other chambers. Isgar bore him company. 
Surely they could not have failed.” 

“ Failed !” repeated Thorgard, with starting eyes, his 
voice husky and quivering. “ Barwulf failed ! It can- 
not be !” 

“ So I said, sire. I do not think it can be. Some- 
thing has detained him. It is not impossible that he 
has be^n discovered and captured.” 

“ O ! say not so ! I would rather he were dead than 
captive in the hands of the officers of Charlemagne !” 

“In truth, sire,” Sindorf said, honestly, “I cannot 
believe he has suffered himself to be taken alive. No 
number of men that would be likely to be up and mov- 
ing at such an hour could overcome him.” 

The king took a turn across the room, and on his way 
back a new thought had come to him. 

“ Sindorf, you saw and conversed with Detrich. You 
said that he had been entertained by the paladin in 
person. Did he speak to you of him ?” 

“ Yes — freely.” 

“ Ah ! And what said he ? What was his report of 
the youth ?” 

Sindorf hesitated. The speech of the Bohemian valet 


Barwulf' s Frightful Report . 


167 


came back to him clearly, and even vividly. Should he 
repeat it ? 

“ Can you not call it to mind ?” Thorgard asked, mis- 
taking the cause of his henchman’s hesitation. 

“ Yes, sire. The youth pleased him greatly. He said 
he had never met a man whom he considered better 
fitted to be a leader of men. ‘ Nature had formed him,’ 
he said, ‘ to grace any station.’ ” 

“ Oho ! Perhaps he thought him fitted to be the 
king of Moravia and Bohemia.” 

“ Nay, sire ; he said no such thing.” 

“ But he thought it, I’ll be sworn. O ! if Barwulf — ” 

“Barwulf /” shouted the page from the private door 
of the tower — the only door of the apartment that could 
be opened from without. 

And a moment later the burly ruffian advanced up the 
chamber ; but not the self-possessed and self-confident 
villain of the previous day. His step was slow and 
hesitating, his head was bowed, and his brutal face, 
though still marked by native ferocity, was in a measure 
cowed and weakened. Both the king and Sindorf 
gazed at him in astonishment ; the latter was only 
astonished, but the former was both astonished and 
terrified. 

“ Barwulf ! Barwulf ! We were just speaking of you. 
Your name was on my lips as you entered. I had 
almost feared that you had been captured.” 

“No, no,” said the bravo, with a slow and dubious 
shake of his head. “ No man of Langwald should have 
taken me alive. No— I — I — for one thing, I got lost in 
the intricate mazes of the secret labyrinth beneath the 
castle. I expected nothing but that an expedition would 
have been sent after me, with old Englehard at its 
head. O ! I wish it had — or — almost I wish it. I should 
have certainly made an end of a dangerous man. By 


The Knight 's Motto. 


168 


the mighty son of Odin ! I would have killed him if I 
had done nothing more. Sire — you remember Engle- 
hard ?" 

“ Aye, I have reason to remember him, and he knows 
it. His head would have gone to the executioner a 
score of years ago if he had not fled beyond our 
borders.” 

“ Well, he is within our borders now, and for a pur- 
pose." 

“ Barwulf !" The two men — the monarch and the 
assassin— looked each other in the face for a time with- 
out another word. The former had evidently been upon 
the verge of an exclamation which he did not utter. 
His countenance perceptibly changed as he next spoke. 

“ Sindorf has safely delivered the Princess of Bohe- 
mia into our hands. She is within these walls at the 
present moment. You left him for the purpose of seek- 
ing—" 

The king did not finish the sentence. At that point, 
Barwulf, with a quick, low cry, caught his wrist in a 
grasp that made him wince. His face had paled to the 
shade of death, his breath came quickly and gaspingly, 
and his whole frame shook as with palsy. 

“Barwulf! In the name of all that is wonderful, 
what happened to you? Was it in the subterranean 
pass ?" 

“ No !" said the ruffian, in a hoarse whisper. “ It was 
in the paladin’s chamber. As I rose to my feet, after 
passing beneath the tapestry that hung against the wall, 
he was before me. My hand was never stronger ; it 
never grasped a club more resolutely. I was ready, 
almost, to strike, when the man before me raised on 
high a flaming lamp, the light of which revealed his 
features more clearly than yours are revealed at this 
moment. Merciful heaven ! It was a face from the 


Barwulf' s Frightful Report . 169 


grave ! He spoke ; and his voice was the voice of one 
long since dead ! My right hand sank limp and power- 
less. To have saved my life, I could not then h^ve 
stricken a blow. If I let fall a cry, or not, I am unable 
to say. He was shortening his Sword for a thrust, when 
I felt Isgar’s hand on my ankle. The next l ean remem- 
ber, I was back behind the tapestry and back behind the 
secret panel. I had sense enough to close it, and then 
to glide away where I could rest, for I was weak and 
faint, scarcely knowing what I did. 

“ When I came to myself I started up ; and then it 
was that I lost my way. I got into places I had never 
before seen, and wandered aimlessly. Of course, Isga,r 
could not help me. He might have told me, in the 
beginning, when my brain was still reeling, that I was 
starting in a strange direction ; but he thought I knew 
what I was about, and held his peace. I suppose my 
manner frightened him ; and I do not wonder.” 

The ruffian stopped, well nigh breathless. The king 
was gazing at him with eyes that seemed literally start- 
ing from their sockets ; his face bloodless, and his frame 
quivering. 

“ Barwulf !” he whispered, as though afraid of his own 
voice, “ who — who — was it you saw ?” 

The bravo cast a quick, furtive glance around the 
apartment, and then, scarcely above his breath, he 
answered : 

“ I looked upon him last beneath a forest tree— dead ! 
I know now t’was but a resemblance ; but, O ! so close 
—so exact ! — Sindorf !” turning to his companion with 
a sudden burst, “ had you been there, you would have 
been shocked as I was. You would have seen once 
ae-ain that pale, lifeless face, as we left it in that forest 
glade !” 

“ Don’t ! Don’t !” almost shrieked the second ruffian. 


The Knight's Motto. 


i 70 


“ Fools !” exclaimed the king, struggling up from the 
incubus that had oppressed him. “ Will you let your 
fancies betray you ? I’faith ! you seem in a fair way for 
it. Aye, it was a resemblance. Remember that ; and 
remember, too, that it means much to us. Barwulf, you 
saw the youth plainly ?” 

“ I told you, sire, more plainly even than I can now 
see yourself.” 

“ What should you judge his age to be ?” 

“ Ho ! I have thought of all that. There can be no 
mistake. He is of the proper age ; and we can now 
understand old Englehard’s attachment to his person. 
Aye,” the bravo added, with a sharp, significant look 
into the monarch’s face ; “ And we now understand 
why the great emperor has seen fit to intrust to him the 
care of the Bohemian princess.” 

Thorgard started as though he had been stricken a 
heavy and unforeseen blow. His teeth shut with a snap, 
his hands were clenched, his eyes blazed and fury 
glared in every lineament. 

“ O, Barwulf ! Barwulf ! And you had him under 
your hand ! Where were your senses ? A single blow, 
and a kingdom might have changed fates. Fool ! Fool ! 
O, Barwulf ! I could not have believed it of you !” 

For a single moment the ruffian hung his head ; then 
he looked up, with an angry light in his lurid eyes, and 
made answer : 

“ Call me what you will. Call me fool, call me traitor, 
if you like, but do not call me coward. I tell thee, king, 
to thy face, hadst thou been in my place, thy very frame 
would have collapsed. It is very easy for you to stand 
here and vent your anger on me. I would like to see 
you where I was. I fancy the opportunity to sneer 
would have been mine.” 

“ Pshaw ! We waste words. You must acknowledge 


Sir Hugo of the Iron Hand. 1 7 1 


that you were frightened by a creature of your own 
imagination — -ff 

“ No, no }” interposed Barwulf, without a sign of 
flinching. “ I was not frightened. The sight I saw 
struck a horror to my soul that no man in the same sit- 
uation could have withstood. I saw what I saw, and 
have no desire to see it again.” 

“ Barwulf, you will make one more effort ? You — ” 

' “ No, I will not,” the ruffian cried, again breaking in. 
“ It could be of no use. The power is no more in 
your own hands. It is for you to see to it that the man 
you fear gains not entrance to the citadel. With this 
fortress secure, you may laugh an army to scorn. But, 
O, king, be sure that thou art secure. I have seen that 
this morning which thou shouldst know.” 


CHAPTER XVIII. 

SIR HUGO OF THE IRON HAND ROWENA’s VISITOR. 

Here Barwulf gave another swift glance around the 
room ; then drew nearer, and added : 

“ Sire, there are traitors in our midst ! Traitors are 
within the citadel ! Make sure of them, and you may 
hold yourself safe against all the paladins the emperor 
can spare for your destruction. Make the Bohemian 
princess thy wife — thy queen — and the game is won. 
As for the youth calling himself Sir Winfred, let him 
but venture beyond the walls of Langwald, and you 
may have a force in readiness to crush him. But make 
sure of the traitors first.” 

“ Aye, the traitors ! I have suspected something of 


1 72 


The Knights Motto . 


this ; but I have not been able to fix upon proof. Name 
them, Barwulf, and thy word shall be deemed proof 
enough.” 

“ First, sire,” answered the bravo, checking off the 
names on his fingers as he called them, “ is the old gen- 
eral, Bernaldo. If ever there was treason in a man’s 
heart, it is in his. Next is the Count Tancred ; and he 
is as deep in the mire as is the other. These two men 
have been at Langwald Castle since the paladin’s 
arrival.” 

“ Barwulf ! Do you know this ?” demanded the king, 
his face livid with passion. 

“ Detrich told me. He learned it of one of the 
grooms while he was there.” 

“ Oh ! by the beard of Odin ! quick work will we 
make of them ! Are there others ?” 

“ Yes, sire. Hedwig, once Minister of State, is with 
them. Old Benzil, formerly the war minister, is 
another ; and the noble Martoni, aforetime financial 
agent and treasurer of the kingdom, makes the fifth 
of those who, I can swear, will help in any plot for your 
overthrow.” 

By the time Barwulf had finished speaking, the king 
had become comparatively calm and collected ; but it 
was a terrible calmness — a calmness far more danger- 
ous than were his bursts of passion. 

“ Barwulf, you have seen these men this morning ?’’ 

“ Yes, sire. I saw them in close conference — some- 
thing in itself unusual at such an hour.” 

“ Aye, and unusual at any hour within the citadel. If 
they are engaged in plotting, be sure they are the head 
and front of it. Barwulf, do you accuse them ?” 

“ Aye, on my oath !” 

“ Enough ! You will not go beyond my call, either 


i73 


Sir Hugo of the Iron Hand. 


of you, until the fair Rowena is queen. Let that be 
understood.” 

The ruffians nodded, in token of compliance. Then 
the king turned to a large ebony cabinet that stood 
against one of the walls, and took therefrom a leathern 
bag, which he brought and offered to Barwulf saying, 
as he did so : 

“ There is the gold I promised thee. If I berated thee 
for ; thy failure to strike the tiger’s cub when he was 
within thy reach, I will not hold back a piece of the 
sum I promised to give. In the bag you will find eighty 
pieces. You two will divide equally, and pay the men 
who helped you. That was the agreement. And now, 
as you go hence, find Hugo of the Iron Hand, and send 
him to me. Ho ! I have rare work for him ! Fail not.” 

With that the ruffians left, going out by the door into 
the tower ; and Thorgard had taken, but a few turns 
across the chamber when the same door was ngain 
opened, and the man for whom lie waited appeared ; and 
he certainly appeared a fit man for the office he held — 
the king’s lieutenant and chief officer of justice. He 
was a man of middle age, a knight, short in stature, but 
broad-shouldered, and possessing a frame of exceeding 
strength and endurance. His jaw was massive, and his 
face hard and cruel — the face of a man who knew no 
mercy. From his great physical strength, and the 
weight of the blow he was capable of striking, as well 
as from his. unyielding nature, he had gained the name 
of The Iron Hand. 

“ Sir Hugo,” said the king, after the exchange of brief 
salutations, “would it surprise you if I should order you 
to arrest Count Tancred and General Bernaldo ?” 

With a simple nod, and a demoniac smile, the officer 
replied ; 


i 74 The Knight's Motto . 


“ Not at all, sire. I should be rather surprised if you 
did not.” 

“ Ha ! then you know something of them ?” 

“ I know there is mischief afoot, and that they have a 
hand in it.” 

“ And how with regard to Hedwig and Benzil and 
Martoni ?” 

“ Sire, you are excellently well informed. If Barwulf 
has given you the hint, be sure he knows whereof he 
speaks.” 

“Will you, Sir Hugo, accuse these men ?” 

“ Yes, sire. They are traitors to you and yours — 
every one.” 

“ Then,” shouted the monarch, with a stamp of his 
heavy foot, “ arrest them ! Cast them, for the present, 
into a strong dungeon. Never mind food or drink. 
To-morrow those in my capital who would plot treason 
against the throne shall have a lesson. I will give them 
to the executioner in the presence of the populace. Let 
the block be set on the outer wall, towards the centre of 
the town, where all can see.” 

“ It shall be done, sire.” 

“ Next, Hugo, let every soldier within the citadel be 
armed and ready for muster to-morrow morning. For 
to-day let the guards be doubled ; post them at every 
point, and with the gray dawn of the sun let them be 
doubled again. Not a section of our battlements, nor a 
pass within the citadel, must be left without a faithful 
watchman. Let no surprise surprise us.” 

“ Rest easy, sire. The traitors shall be caged at once. 
I know where they are. No enemy can reach you 
while our walls stand, and our brave men-at-arms have 
life and sense. Hasten your marriage. Much depends 
on that.” 

“ The time is fixed, Hugo — to morrow evening. Look 


Sir II ugo of the Iron Hand. 


75 


you to the traitors, and I will pay my respects to the 
princess. By my faith ! she’ll think me a neglectful 
wooer.” 

From words which Grissel had spoken as she was 
making ready to leave her chamber, the princess had 
supposed that the king would very soon visit her. She 
certainly had no desire to see him, but if the interview 
was not to be avoided, she wished it over with. The 
anticipation, the striving for strength and courage to 
enable her to meet the ordeal becomingly, taxed her 
patience and tried her nerves. Two hours at least had 
passed after the woman’s departure before a sound indi- 
cated that she was to have a visitor. 

The second hour had come to an end, and Rowena 
had just ceased from walking to and fro, and taken a 
seat, when Elfrida, whose ear was keenly sensitive in 
the service of her beloved mistress, caught the sound of 
an approaching footstep. 

“ Some one comes near,” she said, listening attentively, 
“but not in the direction of any door which we have 
seen. Hark ! O ! there is another door ! See J” 

As she spoke the tapestry was lifted on the side 
opposite to the door communicating with their dormi- 
tory, and a man entered- — a man who, our heroine was 
well assured, must be the king. Even at that moment- 
in the presence of the enemy she had most to fear of 
all the world— she could ask herself a philosophic ques- 
tion. What she asked was this : “ Do I look upon this 

man through the medium of prejudice ? Do the things 
I have heard of him blind me to what there may be of 
goodness in his face ?” 

For, with a strong desire to be candid and impartial, 
she could not discover a single good quality in the dark 
Italian face. Almost the first thought that came to her 
was to compare it with the face of the two leading 


The Knight's Motto . 


i 76 


ruffians of the previous night. Theirs had been the more 
brutal, but this was the more fiendish. Of the two 
sources she would have looked for mercy by far the 
more hopefully from either Barwulf or Sindorf than 
from the man before her. 


CHAPTER XIX. 

WAMBA COMFORTS. THE PRINCESS AND MAKES IMPORTANT 
DISCOVERIES. 

The princess could not pretend to be ignorant of the 
rank of her visitor. The royal trappings had been too 
conspicuously put on for that. So she arose upon his 
entrance, and stood facing him unflinchingly. 

“ Dear Princess,” he said, with what was meant for a 
sweet and winning smile — a wolfish smile, Rowena 
thought it. Elfrida afterwards said it looked to her 
like the smile of a hyena — “ dear Princess, let me hope 
you have not thought me neglectful.” He paused a 
moment, and, as she made no sign of answering, he 
went on : 

“ Only business of most serious importance has kept 
me from you. I find you well, and looking — ah ! how 
shall I express it ?” 

She had unconsciously moved so that a flood of light, 
slanting in through one of the embrasures, had com- 
pletely enveloped her, as in a halo ; it might have 
seemed to an artist a halo of glory. The sensual mon- 
arch was captivated, his senses inthralled. He advanced 
a step nearer, and folded his hands on his bosom. 


IVamba Comforts the Princess. 


1 71 


“ Princess, I dare to swear no wife in the realm shall 
be loved as thou shalt be ! Let me hope — let my heart 
be gladdened by thy promise— that thou wilt be a will- 
ing bride ! Speak not hastily, unless it be to make me 
happy ; yet, speak." He caught the look of her beauti- 
ful face — a look of disgust so utter, so deep, and so all- 
pervading, that it startled him, and he quickly added : 

“ Dear lady — Princess !— for thine own sake, I beg of 
thee let thy speech be temperate. I am here, thy sup- 
pliant. I lay at thy feet the crown of two nations, which 
thou shalt share with me. To thee, also, I offer my 
heart and my hand. Will not thine own good judg- 
ment tell thee to accept the generous offer ?” 

“ King — for king I take thee to be,” said Rowena, 
speaking for the first time, with a calmness and dignity 
that surprised herself, “ thou offerest the crown of two 
nations.” 

“ Aye, Moravia and Bohemia.” 

“ Since when has the crown of Bohemia been thine to 
give away ?” 

“It will be mine when thou art my wife,” the mon- 
arch answered, readily, and with a significant nod. 
“ Dost understand ?” 

For a single instant the princess was at a loss. The 
cool and ready audacity of the man had perplexed her. 
But she quickly regained her wits, and replied, almost 
without hesitation : 

“ Such understanding as I have — poor it may be — tells 
me that as I am not thy wife, the crown that was my 
father’s, and is by right mine, can scarcely be thine.” 

“ Sweet lady,” Thorgard returned, his temper taking 
the outward form of irony, “ I should suppose one of 
royal birth, and of imperial education and training, 
would better understand the nature of a monarch’s 
wooing. It is not my custom to be thwarted ; and in 


1 78 


The Knight's Motto. 


the present instance rest assured I shall not be. It is my 
purpose to make thee my wife. I caused thee to be 
brought hither that my purpose might be accomplished. 
Once more I ask thee : Dost understand ?” 

“ Thy speech is plain, sir,” the lady responded, with- 
out a quiver, “ and it would be folly in me to profess 
ignorance of thy meaning. Thy wife I cannot be, as 
thou shouldst well know. As ward of the emperor I 
cannot wed without his consent. Bring to me the con- 
sent of Charlemagne, bearing his authentic seal and 
signature, and I will then consider thy proposition. 
Until then, or until you restore me to liberty, lam but 
a Captive, to whom no honorable man would offer such 
gross and unmerited insult.” 

“Ha!”; — his anger for the first time showing itself- — 
“ dost term the offer of my heart and hand an insult ?” 

“ Aye !” answered the princess, with spirit, and 
proudly. “ The offer of thy heart, as thou knowest, is 
but empty mockery. The offer of thy hand is insult.” 

“ Then, by the heaven above and the powers beneath ! 
I swear to thee, the insult shall be carried to entire 
accomplishment. My wife thou shalt be ; and no power 
within reach of thy prayers can prevent it. Dost under- 
stand that ?” 

The king’s face, as he thus spake, was the face of a 
fiend ; and the gentle maiden shrank from him, not in 
fear, not in terror, but in absolute horror at his demoniac 
profanity. One final struggle— an effort calling for 
every atom of her reserved force — her powers of will 
and self-support — and she lifted her head and spoke : 

“ King, I am thy captive — thy prisoner. Doubtless 
thou wilt attempt that which thou hast threatened. I 
can only say unto thee : Beware lest thy cruelty 
returneth upon thyself. What an empty form can do 
thou mayest accomplish ; but, I tell thee to thy face, 


IVamba Comforts the Princess . 


1 79 


attempt to do more, and thou wilt rush upon thy 
fate.” 

“ Oho ! Perhaps thy pretty hand would strike the 
blow !” 

“ If the ordeal is pressed upon me, I shall not forget 
that I am the daughter of Maximilian !” 

“ Aye, thou art !” returned the king, his blazing wrath 
giving place to a fixed and savage resolve. “ And the 
daughter of Maximilian shall be my wife ! Princess,” 
he added, the expression of his gypsy-brigand face los- 
ing some of its ferocity, but taking on more of cruelty, 
“ thou art not in a fit -mood at present for rational con- 
verse. I will see thee again. But meantime remember 
this : Before another day shall be numbered with the 
past, thou wilt be my wife. Think of it as thou wilt ; 
let thine opposition be what it may ; as I said before, so 
say I once again, no power within reach of thy prayers 
can prevent it.” 

He took a step backward ; then raised himself to his 
proudest height, and, with a more kingly look than he 
had before assumed, he said : 

“ Princess, the king of Moravia is not to be thwarted 
by a weak woman. With thine other thoughts do not 
forget that.” And with this he turned to the tapestry, 
at the point where he had entered, lifted it aside, and 
disappeared. 

For a time after mistress and maid had been left 
alone together, neither moved nor spoke. Elfrida was 
the first to break the silence. She sprang forward and 
threw herself at the princess’ feet, burying her face in 
her lap. 

“ O ! lady ! Dear lady ! what can be done ? Can 
you tell me something I can do ?” 

Rowena lifted the agonized girl from her lowly posi- 
tion, and caused her to sit by her side. 


i8o 


The Knight's Motto. 


“ Elfrida, it is not a fear of this wicked king — not his 
threats nor his avowed purpose — that gives me now the 
most painful concern. His threats are terrible ; his 
purpose worse than death ; but if I could only know that 
all was well with Sir Winfred, I could be happy — O ! 
how happy ! When I think of that dreadful man — that 
Barwulf — and think that he remained behind at 
the castle to seek my brave paladin, my heart sinks 
within me,” 

“Dear lady! — sweet mistress ! — do you believe such 
a man could overcome Sir Winfred ? Think how strong 
and brave he is, and how watchful of danger.” 

“ Of danger to others, but not always of danger to 
himself. Ah ! the bravest man is but human. An 
unseen foe may strike him fatally in an instant. 
Even — ” 

The speech of the princess was cut short by the lift- 
ing of the tapestry a second time, but not in the same 
place as before. This time it was at a £>oint midway of 
the wall opposite the embrasures, and immediately 
afterwards a human form stepped forth into the cham- 
ber. Yes — surely it was human, but so grotesquely 
misshapen that Elfrida cried out in alarm. But not so 
Rowena. The moment the dwarf turned his face 
towards her she knew it must be the old-time jester of 
Hildebert— now, for purposes of his own, attached to 
the person of the present monarch — the good and loyal 
Wamba, of whom Englehard had told her so much. So 
sure was she of this, and so much hope and courage did 
the kindly look of the hunchback give her, that while he 
seemed charmed into momentary silence by her tran- 
scendant beauty, she was the first to speak. 

. He detected her intent, and quickly placed his finger 
on his lips. She understood the signal as one of caution, 
and accordingly lowered her tone to a whisper. 


IV iniba Comforts the Princess. 


81 


“ Art thou Wamba? Aye, thy face tells me thou art 
my friend.” 

“ Don’t flatter, royal lady. Speak truly, and acknowl- 
edge ’twas this ugly body that told thee I must be 
Wamba.” 

“ Aye,” answered the princess, quickly and earnestly. 
“ Thy strange misfortune of shape did truly give me to 
know thy name, or at least to guess it, but, as I said, it 
was *thy face, where heaven has set the seal of good- 
ness, that told me thou wert my friend. God grant 
that I be not mistaken.” 

The dwarf gazed upon the beauty — upon the rare 
loveliness, the purity, the freshness, and the soul -sent 
truth of the being before him, in a species of rapture. 
A few seconds so, and then, with a burst of feeling 
intense and all-pervading, he exclaimed, as though to 
himself : 

“ And this is she whom Thorgard would make his 
wife ! An afrite mated with a peri ! Princess,” he 
added, after a little pause, “ I see that some one has told 
you of me — probably good old Englehard.” 

“ Yes ; it was Englehard.” 

“ Then I need not ask you to trust me. My time 
must be brief in this place ; let us speak to the point. 
Be seated.” 

While the princess was finding her seat, the dwarf spoke 
a few gallant words with Elfrida, who had now come 
to look upon him with respect, if not with admiration. 
There was, in truth, something exceedingly winning in 
Wamba’s face, and those who were capable of rightly 
estimating his deeper, purer character, very soon over- 
looked his misshapen figure. 

“ Now, Princess,” the strange visitor said, when she 
had taken a seat, and he had found a stool at her feet, 
“ let us say what we have to say, for it might cost me 


182 


The Knight's Motto . 


iny head to be found here. And that would be a pity, 
you will acknowledge, since my head is the only part of 
my corporeal frame not calculated to frighten the 
beholder. But I will not jest with thee. Thorgard 
has been here ?” 

“ Yes.” 

“ How did he conduct himself ?” 

Rowena, in few words, gave the substance of the 
interview. 

When she had concluded, her maid, feeling that she 
had not done herself justice, supplemented what she 
deemed necessary to an understanding of her mistress’ 
calm and dignified courage in the king’s presence. But 
Wamba had not needed Elfrida’s help. His own keen 
interpenetration had enabled him to see and under- 
stand the unspoken portions of the princess’ story. 
He had seen all her courage, her dignity and her 
withering contempt, and he was charmed ; but before 
he could speak in return— the instant her maid had 
ceased speaking — Rowena laid a hand upon his arm, 
and eagerly exclaimed : 

“ O’ Wamba ! good Wamba ! canst thou tell me of 
Sir Winfred ? Hast heard from Langwald ?” 

“ The noble paladin is safe and well, dear lady.” 

“ O, thank heaven ! Wamba, thou knowest. Word 
has come to thee since my seizure — since I was taken 
from the castle.” 

“ It is as I tell thee, dear Princess. The young pala- 
din is safe and well, and will not suffer thee to remain 
long in thy present prison. I saw old Englehard not 
an hour since. And now,” the dwarf continued, break- 
ing in upon a burst of grateful emotion, “ I must tell 
thee what I am commissioned to tell. Let the king do 
what he will, thou wilt have no fear. Though he 
should lead thee to the altar, and the priest should 


IV ambit Comforts the Princess . 


183 


begin his mouthing, the foul purpose shall not be ac- 
complished. Thy friends are many and powerful, and 
‘ they will not permit harm to come to thee. Canst thou 
bear up yet a little while, knowing that the perfectness 
of joy will be thine in the end ?” 

“ Yes, — O ! yes, good Wamba. I will be strong and 
brave. Now that I know Winfred is safe, I can face the 
king without a fear. He has promised me, as have 
you, and as good old Englehard hath done — that all 
shall be well ; and I should be ungrateful indeed could 
I doubt.” tfslqgjrfc Hogiorf orn >b Jori 

“ Heaven bless thee, sweet Princess ! And now I 
must leave you. Should there be need of my coming 
again, I shall come. If I do not come, thou wilt know 
that all is well. If I see the paladin, I will give him 
assurance of thy comfort and well-being.” 

“ Yes, yes. Tell him Rowena is strong, and that her 
faith in him will uphold her to the end/’ 

The dwarf promised ; then he lifted the hand of the 
princess reverently to his lips, and a moment later he 
had disappeared. He went leaving hope and happi- 
ness where he had found terrible doubt and harrowing 
fear. 

Wamba left the chamber by a secret way — a way un- 
known to the king, though it was in his own palace. 
The fact was, during the lifetime of the last Hildebert, 
as during the latter part of the reign of the second of 
that name, Thorgard had not been deemed a fit person to 
be intrusted with a knowledge of the secret passes of the 
royal keep ; and since their death the secret had re- 
mained in possession of not more than five men, all of 
whom had pledged themselves, each to the others, that 
the king whom they deeply mistrusted should not be ad- 
mitted to share their important knowledge. Aye, even 
in those other years they had foreseen that the time 


184 


The Knight's Motto . 


might come when the possession of that secret would 
be of the utmost importance to the nation itself. 

By devious ways and dark ; between walls, and within 
walls ; by passes broad, and passes narrow ; passes 
high and vaulted, and passes low and jagged, Wamba 
made his way, until at length he had reached a point 
far down below the foundations of the keep, where the 
atmosphere was heavy and damp, great gouts of mois- 
ture hanging on the rocks, with here and there films of 
slime on the pavement. He had with him a good lan- 
tern, which he had left behind on entering the apart- 
ment of the princess, and taken it again on coming 
back. 

He had reached a point where the passage appeared 
to terminate in a cul-de-sac, and was in the act of insert- 
ing the blade of his dagger into a narrow crevice in the 
wall, when his movement was suddenly arrested by the 
sound of tramping feet, the creaking of a ponderous 
door on its hinges, and, a moment later, human voices. 

“ What now ?” he said to himself, noiselessly with- 
drawing his dagger and bending his ear to listen. 
“ Has the tyrant sniffed danger and made an arrest? 
Ha ! I should know that voice ! — And that ! — Oho ! he 
of the Iron Hand has been whispering into the royal ear. 
I saw him sneaking in and out, with his ears pricked 
like those of a suspicious horse. Well, well — we shall 
see.” 

With this the dwarf found a convenient seat on a 
projecting point of rock, and there sat him down to 
listen further and to wait, with his ear pressed close 
against the wall, directly beyond which the significant 
movements were going on. 

•“ Water ! Water ! You will give us water ?” he heard 
a well-known voice exclaim. To which a voice equally 
well-known — the voice of Sir Hugo — responded : 


Wamba Comforts the Princess . 




“ Neither food nor drink ! So the king hath ordered. 
But do not fret yourselves. You will not be left here 
to suffer for long. Ho-ho ! we shall have a rare enter- 
tainment for the populace to-morrow. We will show 
them how the king loves traitors J” 

Shortly after this, Wamba heard the clang of an \co n 
door, then the dull grating of heavy bolts and bars, and 
then silence fell — a silence which lasted until the hum 
of voices in conversation fell upon the listener’s 
ear. 

A brief space longer the hunchback waited, and then 
he resumed the work in which his hand had been 
arrested. Once more he inserted the blade of his dag- 
ger into the crevice in the wall, forcing it in until the 
point came in contact with a spring that yielded to the 
pressure. Presently there came a sharp click from 
within the body of the wall, after which a smart push 
on the edge of one of the large stones caused it to move 
from its place ; and it moved on, under continued force, 
until the stone had revolved, as on a central pivot, 
exposing an aperture through which a man could pass 
with ease, and through which the hunchback passed 
without bending his head. 

“ Wamba ! Thank heaven !” It was the Count Tail- 
ored who spoke. With him were General Bernaldo and 
the old ministers, Hedwig, Benzil and Martoni. 

They had been arrested by the king’s lieutenant, and 
informed that they would die on the morrow. 

“ Our execution is to afford an exhibition to the pop- 
ulace,” said the old general, grimly. 

“ The populace will not be disappointed,” added 
Wamba, with a suggestive shrug of his enormous 
shoulders. “ But I fear we cannot permit Thorgard to 
be master of ceremonies.” 

Then arose the question of what was to be done in 


1 86 


The Knight's Motto. 


the meantime ; and the decision was left to the man 
who had so fortunately found them in the season of 
their need. 

“You must not be seen yrithin the citadel again 
to-day," the dwarf said, after a little thought. “ I will 
take it. upon myself to finish the work here which you 
would have done. I can enlist five hundred safe and 
reliable men that shall engage in it with heart and soul. 
As for you, I think you had best make your way as 
speedily as possible to Langwald. I shall have a mes- 
sage to send by you, if I do not myself bear you com- 
pany." 

“ Can you show us the secret way, good Wamba ?" 

“ Aye, that can I. Come, there is no time to waste." 

And ere long thereafter the whole party had passed 
out from the strong dungeon through the aperture by 
which the hunchback had entered ; and the solid rock 
was firmly set in place behind them. 


CHAPTER XX. 

AN ADVENTURE OF THE PRESENT, WITH A GLIMPSE AT 
THE PAST. 

When Hugo of the Iron Hand had seen his illustrious 
prisoners safely bolted and barred behind one of the 
heaviest iron doors, and within one of the deepest and 
strongest of the dungeons beneath the royal keep, he 
went forth for the purpose of carrying into effect the 
further orders of the king. He went first to the barracks 
of the citadel, to the quarters of the officers, where he 
called to his assistance a full score of those in whom he 


An Adventure of the Present . 


187 


had the most confidence — men, every one of them, 
devoted to their royal master because of the grand 
carousals and the opportunities of plunder he had 
given them. 

With these officers Sir Hugo went through the 
quarters of the men-at-arms, and not a man was found 
who did not readily swear, when approached on the 
subject, that to his king he would give his life, if need 
be. If there were any who felt differently, they did 
not Venture to show it. 

After this the officers of every grade were assembled 
on the great parade, and to them Sir Hugo promised 
that he Would bring the king in person, and for that 
purpose he sought the monarch in his private closet. 

Notwithstanding the glowing terms in which the 
lieutenant pictured his success thus far— -the safe 
imprisonment of the chief of the traitors, and the spon- 
taneous outpouring of loyal sentiments on the part of 
the soldiery ; and notwithstanding the presence of the 
Bohemian princess within his power, Thorgard was 
deeply troubled, and manifestly ill at ease. On his 
way with his devoted henchman, across the court of the 
fortress, he stopped, ’and laid his hand on the officer’s 
arm. A trembling hand it was ; and the lips trembled 
that uttered speech. 

“ Hugo, answer me a question. Answer as in thy 
heart thou believest it to be. Thou rememberest 
Her tag ?” 

“He to whom thou didst give in charge Feodora and 
her child ?” 

“ The same — yes.” 

“ Certainly. I remember him well.” 

“ Now answer me this : Dost think he kept faith 
with me — No, no, I will not say that. Dost think he 


88 


The Knight's Motto. 


told me truly when he swore that the mother and child 
had both died ?” 

The lieutenant hesitated. Presently he started, as 
though under the influence of a new and momentous 
thought. He grasped the monarch’s arm, and looked 
eagerly into his face. 

“ Sire, has thy question any bearing upon present 
events ?” 

“Yes.” 

“Do thy thoughts turn to the youthful paladin of 
Charlemagne ?” 

“ Yes. I am told his shield bears the device of a 
riven oak ; his motto, 4 Resurgam.’ Barwulf saw him, 
and was frightened to the weakness of an infant. He 
swears that he saw the face of one whom he saw lying 
dead in the forest a score of years ago. What think st 
thou ?” 

“ Sire,” answered Sir Hugo, after a little thought, 
“ one thing I can tell you. It has come to my knowl- 
edge — I learned it from a Saxon of Cedric’s train— that 
Hertag died at Aix la Chapelle many years ago— how 
many, he could not say. But he said nothing of a 
woman or a child.” 

“ O, Hertag lied to me ! He refused the gold I 
offered him, saying it was the price of — But never mind. 
He lied ! — he lied ! He bore Feodora and her child to 
the court of Charlemagne. I see it all now.” 

“ Pshaw !” cried Hugo, abruptly and vehemently. 
“ Remember thou art king ! The Princess of Bohemia 
will be thy wife to-morrow. The heads of the traitors 
shall fall, and so shall the heads of all who prove them- 
selves such. With the princess once thy wife, and thy 
citadel strongly garrisoned, what hast thou to fear ? 
Dwell upon it no more. Come and confer with the 


An Adventure of the Present. 


89 


officers that are true to thee, and in their devotion rest 
thy cause. Come !” 

In a broad arcade, on a side of the great parade 
ground of the citadel, were assembled very nearly two 
hundred officers, representing a force of five thousand 
men. Hugo estimated that there were that number of 
strong, reliable men at that moment under arms within 
the fortress. In the camp outside were five thousand 
more when fully mustered.; but at the present time they 
were scattered. To them the lieutenant did not look. 
Many of them he would not have trusted ; and how 
many might be tainted with treasonable feelings 
towards the king he could not say. He was well 
assured, however, that when they should know that the 
young and lovely Rowena of Bohemia was their queen, 
they would take up arms for the subjugation of the 
sister kingdom with alacrity and without murmur. 

The king addressed the assembled officers feelingly. 
Never before had they seen him so kindly inclined, 
or heard such pathos in his voice. He told of the 
treason against him. He represented that the princess 
of Bohemia willingly gave him her hand. They had 
all heard of the cavalcade that had arrived at Lang- 
wald Castle from the court of the emperor. 

“ To a young and aspiring knight called Winfred,” 
he said, “ the emperor gave in charge the person of the 
princess ; he to bear her safely to my capital. What 
has he done ? You will scarcely credit it. He has dared 
to lift his eyes to the royal beauty, and has had the 
audacity to talk to her of marriage ! I wonder not that 
you groan. It is a wonder that the powers of heaven 
did not strike him dead ! Aye, the impudent stripling 
not only offered that insult to a princess destined to be 
your queen, but he has dared to foment treason among 
some of the oldest members of ,otir court. 


190 


The Knight's Motto . 


“ And this man,” the monarch fairly shouted, after a 
brief pause, “ may show himself before the gate of our 
citadel. Should he do so — Mark me — should he do so, 
I will give a hundred broad pieces of gold — and, should 
he be above the rank of commander of a squadron, I 
will give the accolade of knighthood — to the man who 
shall bring me Sir Winfred’s head upon the point of his 
spear.” 


CHAPTER XXI. 

GETTING READY. 

For a little time the multitude were held speechless 
by the startling character of the announcement ; but 
presently Sir Hugo set the example, and very soon the 
welkin rang with the shouts of the excited officers. 
The king should have the head he* craved, if its owner 
should dare to show himself before their gate. 

This point reached, the king and Sir Hugo, accom- 
panied by a score or more of those officers whom the 
lieutenant had selected, visited the various guarded 
points around the whole circumference of the citadel. 
The guards were doubled, with provision for being 
quadrupled at night; and the whole force were to 
sleep on their arms, ready to fall into line at a moment’s 
notice. 

At length, tired and weary, though professing to be 
hopeful, the monarch returned to his closet, leaning 
upon his lieutenant’s arm. 

“ Hugo,” he said, as his favorite was turning to leave 
him, “ tell me, honestly, what thinkest thou of Wamba ? 
Is he true ?” 


Getting Ready . 


1 9 1 


He of the Iron Hand started. The question surprised 
him. Of doubting the good faith of the hunchback he 
had never even thought. 

“ Sire, what can have put such a thought into your 
head ?” 

“ I cannot tell you.” After a little thought he added : 
“ Of late he has behaved strangely ; his speeches are 
significant.” 

“ They always were so, sire, and probably always will 
be. He is a strange being in every way.” 

“ But not a fool, Hugo.” 

“ Humph ! who ever thought him such ? Poor 
Wamba ! If he were to hear you speak of doubting 
him, I verily believe he would go wild. I saw him this 
morning, while you were with the princess, and he was 
proud and happy. He was going to compose a poem 
for your wedding. His head and his heart seemed full 
of the beautiful princess.” 

“ If you can find him, send him to me. He will 
cheer me, at all events.” 

The king waited for his jester ; but waited in vain. 
At the end of half an hour he was angry with Wamba 
because he had not come, and he struck his gong furi- 
ously. 

“ Gustave,” he said to the page when he entered, “ go 
find Wamba. Tell him the king commands his imme- 
diate presence. Return not till thou hast found him.” 

The boy went his way in quest of the jester, and the 
monarch resumed his walk. Anon, he remembered 
that the dwarf had been very fond of Hildebert. 

“ By my faith ! he loved my half-brother as he never 
loved me. Suppose he were to know of this young pal- 
adin. Suppose he were to set eyes on him. If Barwulf 
saw the likeness, the dwarf would see it as quickly. O, if 
the clown had but struck the blow when the opportunity 


The Knight's Motto. 


192 


was his, all this travail of soul might have been spared 
me. Barwulf, thou wert a fool, a dolt, an idiot ! That 
thou couldst have been frightened by a shadow, I would 
not have believed. Sindorf would have been more 
brave.” 

And so the king fumed and fretted — sometimes sit- 
ting, then standing, and, anon, pacing to and fro, like 
one bereft — fumed and fretted until nightfall, and no 
Wamba came. Other messengers had been dispatched, 
but they had not found the jester. When the sun had 
set, and the shadows of evening fell athwart his path 
like ghosts, Thorgard bethought him of the princess. 
He had resolved that Wamba should never jest for him 
again. 

“ Let him go !” he said, when the last messenger had 
returned empty-handed — “ let him go ! He is a traitor, 
I am well convinced. By the helm of Thor ! his head 
shall fall with the others, I swear it !” 

Thoughts of the princess had brought to the monarch 
another thought — that of his approaching marriage. As 
we have before intimated, though not at heart a Christ- 
ian, Thorgard had made a show of attachment to the 
new faith, and had called to his court, and to his house- 
hold, a Christian priest, whom he had dubbed bishop. 
The man was from Crete ; his name, Alexander. He 
was in his faith, and to it he meant to be loyal. 

This man the king summoned to his presence ; and 
when he had come he straightway introduced the sub- 
ject of his marriage. 

“ Father, I have a question to ask of thee. Thou know- 
est of my approaching marriage. When thou shalt have 
pronounced the benediction thereon, is there any power 
on earth that can annul or make void the contract ?” 

“ Only the autocrat of the church — the pope. He is 
the only one, my son.” 


Getting Ready . 


f 93 


“ Ha ! I care not for him. He is my friend. He will 
not care, should he dare, to disturb me. I particularly 
alluded to the Emperor Karl. Has he the lawful power 
to do it ?” 

“ No ! no !” answered the bishop, vehemently. “ He 
can no more intefere with an ordinance of the church 
than he can interfere with the circuit of the sun ! He 
would not attempt such a thing, I am sure.” 

“ One question more, good Alexander : Suppose the 
princess, whom I propose to make my wife, when thou 
art come to her part in the ceremony, should refuse con- 
sent, — what then ?” 

“ Thou art king. It is for thee to command — for oth- 
ers to obey. I should pay no attention whatever to her 
opposition. It would be but as the idle wind, which 
bloweth where it listeth.” 

“ Good ! I thank thee, father. Thou hast made the 
way plain before me ; and when the beautiful princess 
is my wife thou shalt name thine own reward.” 

“ Wouldst like that I should see the lady, and point 
out to her her duty ? If she be a devout Christian, the 
voice of a bishop of the church may have healthful influ- 
ence with her.” 

The king embraced the offer eagerly, and thanked the 
prelate for his thoughtfulness. 


The princess, as the shades of evening fell, sat in the 
chamber to which she had been first conducted on her ar- 
rival at the palace. She had eaten her supper ; and Dame 
Grissel had brought lamps, and left her with herself 
and her maid. She had just spoken with Elfrida, wonder- 
ing what would come next, when the tapestry at the far 
side of the room was lifted, and the king appeared, but 
not alone. He was followed by a man somewhat past the 
middle-age — a man of Moorish aspect, — tall and robust ; 


i 9 4 


The Knight's Motto. 


with a face of uncertain character ; and clad in the robes, 
and wearing on his head the mitre, of a bishop of the 
Christian church. 

“ Princess,” said the monarch, in his most gentle man- 
ner, “ I have brought to thee our good father, the pious 
Alexander, of Crete. May I not bespeak for him a gen- 
erous welcome ?” 

With this the king led his companion forward, and, 
without further remark, or further tarry, he turned and 
disappeared beyond the tapestry. 

We will not attempt to follow the primate through his 
interview. He was a man well versed in the ways of 
the world, and in reading character ; and not a dozen 
words had the lady spoken before he knew exactly with 
what he had to deal. 

Rowena received him with quiet dignity, and pleas- 
antly. She was a Christian in every sense of the word, 
and she could not, without doing violence to her own 
deeper feelings, speak lightly or irreverently to a mag- 
nate of her beloved church. But by and by, when the 
bishop had introduced the subject of the king, and of 
her approaching marriage with him, she put out her 
hand and bade him to stop. 

“ Holy father, I respect thy sacred office, and heaven 
knows I would respect thee in person ; but I can have 
no respect for the man now called King of Moravia, and 
thou shouldst surely know that I cannot be his wife.” 

u Dear lady ! — sweet Princess !- — my child !” the 
bishop exclaimed, bringing out his words at intervals, 
and in breathings of astonishment, “ surely I do not 
understand thee aright. Thou speakest as though he 
whd is called king was not king ! Do my ears deceive 
me ?" 

“ Good bishop, I beg of thee, leave me in peace. 
Thou hast given me thy blessing, and I believe thou 


Getting Ready . 


T 95 


hast no more of consolation to offer. Remember I am 
daughter of a king, and, by right, heiress of a throne. 
I cannot allow thee to talk to me of a marriage the very 
thought of which fills me with horror ; and it would fill 
me with despair did I not feel well assured that heaven 
will not permit the outrage which Thorgard contem- 
plates.” 

The churchman gazed at her for a time in speechless 
wonder and admiration ; and for the first time it 
occurred to him that such a marriage as the king con- 
templated would be an outrage against every principle 
of right and justice. Though a servant of Thorgard, 
and willing, to a great extent, to wink at his vices, he 
could not forget that he was a Christian minister, nor 
could he entirely silence within his bosom the still small 
voice that whispered to him the lessons of a crucified 
Saviour. Really, he had come to wish that he might 
not be called upon to perform the iniquitous ceremony. 
Half an hour with the gentle maiden, subjected to the 
purifying and elevating influence of her seraphic nature, 
had served to bring to the surface in him sentiments 
and emotions that had lain dormant since his contact 
with the court of Moravia. 

Rowena saw that he was ill at ease, and she rightly 
guessed the cause. His very look, as he now regarded 
her, told her that his heart was not in the work the king 
had given him to do. 

“Good father,” she said, breaking a silence that had 
lasted several seconds, “ I verily believe this work is not 
pleasant to thee." 

“ Princess, I trust I speak no treason to the king 
when I confess to thee that I like it not. I would that 
I were clear of it.” 

With a sweet, kindly smile the royal maiden 
responded : 


9<5 


The Knihtgs 'Motto. 


“ Father, let not thy heart be sad. Thou wilt not be 
called upon to perform the ceremony ; or, if thou art 
called, no opportunity will be given thee to obey. Ask 
me no questions. It is better thou shouldst know 
nothing, for then thou wilt have nothing to conceal 
from the king.” 

The bishop thanked her warmly, and was content to 
ask no questions. Yet, when he had finally spoken the 
words of parting, and was turning away from the cham- 
ber, he would have given much to know the full import of 
the strange. words she had spoken. Something unusual 
was to h append-something affecting the king ! What 
could it be ? He puzzled his brain until he was weary, 
and was no nearer to light than when he first began. 

Meantime, where was the missing hunchback— the 
king’s jester ? We left him leading the prisoners of 
state out from the dungeon into which they had been 
cast by order of Thorgard. 

Little more than two hours later the whole party 
stood within a deep crypt of Langwald Castle. From 
the dungeon of the royal keep, within the citadel of 
Olmutz, Wamba had led the way through a subter- 
ranean pass — a pass which not one of the nobles had 
ever before entered, though two or three of them had 
suspected its existence. It was a work of vast magni- 
tude, done at the cost of great labor and great skill in 
engineering. Three kings had been engaged in its 
construction. The workmen had come from the far 
Orient, and those who were living at the time of its 
completion sought the home of their fathers when their 
work was done. It had been completed by the last 
Hildebert, and the first practical use made of it had 
been made by Wamba himself. By its means he had 
been enabled to lead a widowed queen and her infant 
son to life and liberty, at the same time giving escape 


Getting Ready . 


197 


to the unhappy, repentant Hertag, who had been 
appointed their executioner. 

As soon as the dwarf had seen the last secret door 
safety closed behind him, he led the way up from the 
crypt, to the light and freshness of the upper apart- 
ments. The first persons met were Englehard and 
Manfred, not long returned from the city. His story 
of the adventures was told in few words, after which 
the old trooper conducted them to the place where he 
had left his master not five minutes before. 

Tancred and Bernaldo were, of course, already 
acquainted with the paladin. The others gazed upon 
him at first in speechless amaze. Gradually, however, 
the lapse of well-nigh an age was called to mind, and 
they saw, not the father, but the infant of the long-gone 
time, in the man of the present. 

Wamba had remained in the background, unseen by 
the youthful knight, until the old ministers had been 
presented. Then Englehard led him forward, with 
the simple remark : 

“ Dear master, here is another friend to who m you 
and all of us owe much.” 

For a few seconds the paladin gazed upon the hunch- 
back dwarf in silent wonder and astonishment. In all 
his life he had never seen a human being so strangely 
and grotesquely misshapen. But, presently, he caught 
the light of the noble countenance, and saw the large, 
soft eyes brimming with tears, and he remembered a 
story old Englehard had told him more than once. 
With hands outstretched, and radiant face, he moved 
quickly forward. 

“ Wamba ! Wamba ! Thou art Wamba, I am sure 1” 

“ Ho ! ho !” laughed the dwarf, while the tears 
streamed down his furrowed cheeks, “ thou knowest me 
by my hump ! but let me tell thee, that same hump once 


198 


The Knight ’s Motto. 


served thee well ; for on it thou didst ride from death 
to life, from a deep dungeon to the blessed light and 
liberty of this very castle wherein now we stand. Thank 
God and all the saints, I see thee once again !” 

He kissed the youth’s hand ; and then, brushing away 
the tears, he turned to those who stood around. 

“ Now, brave, true friends of the realm, remember 
that day is near its close. With the shadow of night 
you must be in the outer camp. I will return and look 
to the citadel ; and at the proper time good Englehard 
will follow with our chieftain. Sir Winfred, thy bride 
awaits thee, with not a doubt to trouble her.” 


CHAPTER XXII. 

A DAY OF WONDERS. 

The day of Thor dawned bright and clear. The king 
was astir early, and was pleased with the happy augury. 

In her chamber the Princess Rowena looked forth, 
and was cheered. 

“ A fairer day I never saw,” she said to her maid. 
“ Shall I not accept it as a blessed sign ?” 

A few miles away, in his castle of Langwald, Sir 
Winfred looked forth, and found comfort and promise 
in the smiling morn. 

“ Look, good Englehard. See how heaven smiles 
upon us. Before I look to my armor I must step out 
upon the verdant sward, and gain strength from the 
freshness of this auspicious day.” 

On this same bright morning a number of grim-look- 
ing men, who cared nothing for the smiles of heaven — 


199 


A Day of Wonders. 


who knew not if heaven ever smiled — were hard at 
work setting up a scaffold on the battlement of the cita- 
del facing the centre of the town. It was a broad 
structure of timber and plank, covered with black cloth, 
and on it, when completed,, were placed a block and an 
axe. Hundreds of the citizens had watched the build- 
ing, and thousands had come to look upon it after it was 
completed. The story had been told that five traitors 
had been arrested — men of high rank in the kingdom — 
and that shortly after noon they were to be beheaded. 

By and by it was whispered that the good Count Tan- 
cred and old General Bernaldo were of the doomed 
number. A little later one who had been that morning 
within the citadel let fall that the old ministers, Hedwig 
and Benzil, and the old treasurer of the kingdom under 
Hildebert the Good, Martoni, were the other three. 
They were sure to die before the sun had set. 

Then the people began to leave the wall of the cita- 
del, caring no longer to gaze upon the horrible scene, 
with its still more horrible associations. Not a happy 
face in all the thousands was to be seen. The day had 
lost its loveliness for those who had known and loved 
the doomed nobles. In truth, there was scarcely a poor 
family in the city who had not occasion to bless one or 
more of those doomed men. Not many words were 
spoken. People knew not whom to trust. A hasty, 
unguarded word, repeated to the king, might cost them 
dear — perhaps life. But a few, who were sure of their 
hearers, were not so reticent. 

“Ah ! if justice were done, he who ordered the set- 
ting up of the scaffold would be the first to suffer upon 
it !” So spoke a stout artisan, with bronzed visage and 
toil-hardened hands, and with wife and children gath- 
ered around him ; and his speech was echoed by all 


200 


The Knight's Motto. 


who heard it, finding echo in the hearts of thousands 
who dared not utter it. 

“ Sire," said Sir Hugo, entering the closet of the 
king at an early hour, “ the scaffold is completed, and 
the block and axe are in place.” 

“ Have the populace seen it ?” 

“ Yes, sire ; the great square was filled.” 

“ What said they?” 

“ I heard not a word. I thought they looked sullen 
and angry.” 

“ Ha ! The dogs need a lesson, and, by my faith, 
they shall have it ! How is it within the citadel, Hugo ? 
Art sure every gate and postern — every entrance of 
every kind is secure, and under sufficient guard ?” 

“ I can swear it, sire.” 

“ And our officers, are they on the alert — as ready and 
cheerful in our service as they were yesterday ?” 

“ I should say so, sire. I have seen but very few of 
them this morning, and they were certainly bright and 
active.” 

“ Go, good Hugo, and bid them to marshal their 
forces, and to hold themselves in readiness for 
any event. The silence of those at Langwald is omi- 
nous. Of course, they must know my purpose with 
regard to the princess, and must oppose it. Doubt- 
less they plan a surprise. I certainly look for them 
to-day in some shape. O ! I hope they will come ! If 
they do, I shall look to see our young paladin’s head 
entering the citadel without the body.” 

“You will not be disappointed, sire. Too many of 
your brave officers crave the honor of knighthood to 
suffer that youth to appear before our walls and keep 
his head.” 

“ I will keep my word. He who brings me that head 
on his spear-point shall be dubbed a knight — aye, 


A Day of Wonders. 


201 


though he be the lowest in grade of them all, so 
that he be a brave man. Now go, Hugo. Marshal all 
our forces within the citadel ; then return to me, and 
we will have our prisoners brought forth. They shall 
die at noon. Stay ! Hast seen anything of Wamba 
this morning ?” 

“ I have not, sire.” 

“ By the shade of Odin ! I cannot understand it. As 
you go forth ask those whom you meet if they have 
seen him. Ah ! I fear we must send his head after 
those of the traitors already known and arrested.” 

Hugo bowed in token of obedience to the king’s com- 
mand, then turned and quitted the room. As soon 
as he was gone, Thorgard summoned a page, and bade 
him go and find Barwulf and Sindorf, and send them 
to him. 

“ The rascals should have come in by this time,” he 
said to himself, as the door closed behind the departing 
messenger. “ I trust they have been vigilant and 
watchful.” He took a few turns to and fro, thinking 
deeply, and then touched his gong a second time, in 
answer to which another page appeared. 

“ Ha ! Gustave 1 Where hast thou been ? I have 
called for thee all the morning in vain. Aye, and thou 
wert absent last evening.” 

“ You told me, sire, that I should not return without 
Wamba. I searched for him everywhere, and I could 
not find him.” 

“ Ho ! ho ! and thou wert afraid ? Well, well, never 
mind. Wamba will come in good time. Go you now 
and find the bishop, and bid him wait upon me here.” 

The boy departed,, and ere long thereafter the bishop 
appeared. He entered with slow and thoughtful step, 
not unlike one who had passed a sleepless night. But 
the king did not notice it. 


202 The Knight's Motto. 

“ Good father,” the monarch said, without a word or 
a sign of salutation, speaking as he might have spoken to 
one of his body-servants, “ I have somewhat changed 
my plans. A certain entertainment which I had 
arranged for the populace— the dispatch of a junto of 
traitors — I am disposed to hasten ; and that will hasten 
my marriage. From this time thou wilt hold thyself in 
readiness to answer at any moment.” 


CHAPTER XXIII. 

I 

ASTOUNDING EVENTS— CONCLUSION. 

The bishop bowed respectfully, without further 
response. The king seemed nettled by the cool and 
distant manner of the prelate. 

Didst hear, Alexander ?” he demanded, abruptly. 

“I heard, your majesty, and will obey,” was the 
answer, given with cool and rigid politeness. 

“ That is enough, ” 

The monarch waved his hand loftily as he thus spoke, 
whereupon the bishop turned and left the room, depart- 
ing with slow and solemn step, as he had entered. 
Thorgard watched him as he went, and when the door 
had closed behind him he smote his clenched hand upon 
his breast, and strode across the chamber. 

“ By the shades of Odin and Thor !” he swore, in 
furious tones, “ I do believe the world is running mad ! 
What is the matter with the bishop ? Does he turn 
against me in his heart? It would seem so. Ha !”— 
after having taken a few strides in silence— “ Mayhap 
the beauty of the princess hath bewitched him. But he 


Astounding Events — Conclusion. 203 


will not fail me. He dare not ! Let him do it, and he 
shall find what manner of spirit a mother of the 
Zirigari gave to Thorgard !” 

After this the minutes passed. Half an hour, by the 
glags that stood upon a shelf against the wall. It was 
a six-hour glass, and had been turned at six o’clock in 
the morning. The forenoon was slipping rapidly away. 
Where were Barwulf and Sindorf, and where Sir 
Hugo? 

He sat down and leaned his head upon his hand. So 
he sat until he could sit no longer, then up and away 
once more at his swift pacing to and fro. 

Almost another half-hour had passed, and the hour 
of noon was close at hand, when the private door of the 
tower was opened, and the page who had been sent in 
quest of them announced Barwulf and Sindorf. 

Almost at the same instant of time, by the door on 
the opposite side of the chamber, came in Sir Hugo of 
the Iron Hand. 

All appeared confused. The king looked first upon 
his ruffians, and then upon his lieutenant. He saw 
their confusion, and attributing it to the unexpected 
meeting in his presence, he quickly determined to let the 
matter pass as of no account, and proceed to business. 

“ Surely,” he said, “ we who are here can trust one 
another.” And then, thinking to dismiss the secret 
visitors first, he motioned to Hugo to be patient, after 
which he turned to the others. 

“ Now, Barwulf, for your report. We are alone,” 
he added, as the ruffian glanced uneasily around. 
“ Speak freely, and to the point. How do you find 
matters in the town ?” 

“ Bad enough, sire,” the wretch answered, resolutely, 
but doggedly. In the great square we saw soldiers 
mingling with the people ; and when we drew near to 


.204 


The Knight's Motto. 


overhear their talk, they drove us away. A longtime 
we sought to gain a knowledge of what was going on' 
but without avail. Finally, when we could gain noth- 
ing by stopping there, we made our way to the camp, 
There it was worse still. We had hardly made our 
appearance on the parade ground when a captain of a 
troop of horse — Gotzstaf by name, and a huge fellow — 
came, with a score of his men, and ordered us to leave 
the camp, swearing that his men would kill us if we 
remained. I saw that he meant what he said; and as 
the men began to gather round us, I gave the word to 
Sindorf, and we left the camp as quickly as possible. 
After all, sire," Barwulf added, as the king began to 
curse Gotzstaf, whom he remembered well, “ the cap- 
tain saved us. His men would have put a score of 
sharp spears through us if he had not held them 
back." 

At this point, before the angry monarch could collect 
himself sufficiently for speech, Sir Hugo succeeded in 
making him understand that he had better send the 
ruffians away ; and as he finally nodded assent, the 
lieutenant gave them the word, and they went, gladly 
enough. Ah ! if they could have foreseen to what they 
went, they would have besought their royal master to 
hide them, even in his deepest dungeon. But they 
could see nothing — their experience in the camp had 
not warned them — and they went on — to their fate ! 

“ Now, Hugo," cried the monarch, as soon as they 
had the apartment to themselves, “ what is thy report ? 
Bring me no more of rank treason, or I shall go mad. 
But speak ! — speak ! Keep me not in suspense. Are 
our men marshaled ? Are our officers true ? If 
Charlemagne’s paladin — champion of the Princess 
Rowena— calling himself Sir Winfred— if he shall show 


AstoufiMkg Events-— Conclusion. 205 


himself beneath our Walls, will they bring- to me his 
head ?” 

The lieutenant trembled at every point ; his face was 
pale, and for a time his lips refused to answer his will 
to speak. At length, however, he said, in a hoarse, 
broken voice : 

“ Sire, full a half of bur officers do not respond to my 
call ; and of those who turned out at the word another 
half only answered to their names, and further said 
they would be found ready for duty when the need 
should come. Perhaps, of our whole force, a quarter 
part came promptly to their places ; but even they were 
ever and anon whispering among themselves as though 
a subject of unusual moment occupied their thoughts 
and conversation.” 

“ Hugo !” said the king, in a shrieking whisper, 
“ speak on ! Tell me what you make of it.” 

“ Sire,” answered he of the Iron Hand, speaking 
more freely as he went on, “what Barwulf hath told us, 
added to my own experience, leads me to believe there 
to be a deep-laid conspiracy against yourself and all 
who have faithfully served you. I have seen something 
of the feeling, even among our best soldiers, against 
the two poor wretches who have just left us ; and, 
surely, we owe it to them, as well as to every principle 
of honor and justice, that they should be protected.” 

“ Aye, but let 11s now think of ourselves. By the 
eternal fire of our sacred altar, I swear it ! Traitors 
shall have a lesson ! Let us lose not another moment. 
What we have to do must be done quickly. Away, 
Hugo ! Bring forth the prisoners already captured. 
They will serve for a beginning. By my soul’s life ! 
when the populace and the soldiery see such men as 
Tancred, Bernaldo, Martoni and the others, given to 
the headsman, they will know that treason to the king 


2o6 The Knight's Motto . 


is a dangerous pastime. Go ! Bring them forth, and 
send them straightway to the block J” 

With a profound obeisance the lieutenant departed, 
and while he was gone Thorgard paced to and fro like 
a caged wolf. r He looked at the glass, and saw that the 
last sands were running out. In a few minutes the last 
grain had gone, and h,e turned ic. He had told the 
page that he would look to it, though it had been the 
merest chance that he had seen it in season. 

It was now high twelve — the hour of noon. The 
king stood for a little time and watched the infin- 
itesimal particles as they counted away the fleeting 
moment? of his life. The thought had come to him, 
aqd he had begun to moralize bn 'it, when his attention 
was called in another direction by the opening of the 
door. 

He turned and saw Sir Hugo — saw him stagger in 
like a drunken man, his face pale as death, and quak- 
ing at every joint. 

“ Hugo !” 

“ Sire, the prisoners ! Gone ! — gone, every one !* I 
found the door bolted and barred, as I left it. I opened 
and entered. The dungeon was empty, and not a 
mark, nor a sign, to tell how they went. Of course, 
they must have come out as they went in. But how ?” 

“Hugo! could Wamba have opened the door? 
Could he have reached ? Did he know how ?” 

“ Bah ! There were six sentinels between the lower 
floor of the keep and that dungeon. How could the 
dwarf have passed them ?” 

“ But somebody must have passed them, unless they 
did the deed themselves. O, Hugo ! art sure ? Didst 
look into every place ?” 

“ I, tell thee, king, they are gone ! And further, they 
must have left the dungeon very soon after they were 


A s toti nding E ven ts — Cone l us ton. 


207 


bolted in. Not a trace is left to show that prisoners 
have been there." 

With a fierce, wildly uttered oath, and a volley of 
imprecations, Thorgard started furiously across the 
chamber. Twice he strode to and fro, and when he 
stopped he had gained a slight control over his more 
violent passions. 

“ By heaven ! there is one thing I can do ! What ho !” 

He gave a violent stroke upon his gong, and presently 
a page appeared, to whom he said ; 

“ Go find the bishop, and bid him attend me at once !” 
Then turning to his lieutenant, after the page had gone, 
he added : 

“ The princess shall be my wife before the day is half 
an hour older. Ho ! good Hugo ! all is not yet lost. 
With the princess of Bohemia my queen, we can hold 
the citadel until help -can come. What of temporary 
insurrection this young stranger has caused, can be 
easily subdued. Courage ! We will weather the storm 
yet.” 

Sir Hugo made no reply. He thought, perhaps, of 
the disaffected force upon which his master depended 
. for the defence of the citadel. At all events, he held 
his peace, and no more was said until the return of the 
page who had been sent in quest of the bishop. 

The page reported that no bishop was to be found. 

“ I found his servant,” the boy said, “ and he told me 
his master had gone away with the hunchback, 
Wamba !” 

Both the king and Sir Hugo were so utterly astounded 
by this that for a brief space neither of them could 
speak ; and before speech had fallen from their lips, the 
page spoke again : 

“ Sire,” he said, quivering and shrinking, as though 
he feared a blow, “ as I came from the bishop’s quarters 


208 


The Knight's Motto. 


I saw a party of officers, with old General Bernal do at 
their head, leading Barwulf and Sindorf away in irons !” 

The effect of this announcement was to lash the mon- 
arch into fury. He only saw a man whom he had 
imprisoned for treason, now escaped, and fomenting 
further trouble. By what authority did any one pre- 
sume to arrest his sworn servants ? 

“Hugo! thou hast' thy good sword. Come with me. 
We will at once marshal our true men, and nip this 
business in the bud ! At the call of their king the sol- 
diers of our garrison will surely spring to arms. — Come ! 
We have not a moment tp lose !— Ha ! Hark ! — What 
means that shout? What is it they are crying so 
lustily Well ! What now ?” This last to a messen- 
ger of the household, who had come rushing in breath- 
lessly. 

“ Sire !” he answered, gaspingly, “ the soldiers from 
the camp j outside the walls, are pouring into the citadel ! 
The great gates have been opened wide, and they come 
in a serried column !” 

“ Who opened the gate ?” 

“ General Bernaldo was one. But, sire, there were a 
hundred others— all strangers — within the walls of the 
fortress, before a gate was opened. How they came in, 
or whence they came, ilobody can tell.” 

“ Ha ! What now ? What tale of horror hast thou to 
tell r 

This to a second messenger who had come rushing 
in, panting and gasping. 

Xi Sire,” he burst forth, “ there has a wonderful thing 
happened. Hundreds of armed men have come into the 
citadel, from nobody knows where ; and — ” 

“ Hold ! We have heard all that. Who leads these 
men?” 


Astounding Events— Conclusion. 209 


“ A knight, sire, in full armor — a giant in size — whose 
hand our soldiers kiss when they can get near to him.” 

“ And his name ? What is he called ?” 

“ O, sire ! my tongue refuses to utter the name they 
give him. Hark ! Ah ! you can hear it now for your- 
self !” ’ ' 

Before a word further could be spoken, the sound of 
many feet was heard upon the pavement of the passage 
leading to the king’s closet, and a few minutes later the 
door was thrown wide open, and a score or more of 
men-at-arms came pouring in, with our old friend Engle- 
hard at their head. He approached the monarch 
straightway, and laid a hand upon his shoulder. 

“ Thorgard, I arrest thee. If thou wilt come quietly, 
so be it. If we must use force, we can do it. 

“ Thou ! Arrest a king ? In whose name ? By what 
authority ?” 

u In the name and by authority of the Emperor 
Charlemagne. Wilt come ?” 

There was another question on the monarch’s lips, 
but he could not — dared not — ask it. He saw that 
resistance would be useless. Saving only the face of 
Hugo, he saw not one that looked kindly upon him. 
Perhaps, when he had gained the presence of others, he 
might find help. But, let come what would, of what 
could he be accused ? Of nothing which could be 
proved. 

Then, suddenly, as he had started to go with his 
captor, he thought of Barwulf and Sindorf, prisoners, 
and in irons. Would they betray him ?” His head was 
bowed as the terror fell upon him, and his step became 
faltering and unsteady. 

In the great hall of audience and wassail, occupying 
almost the whole of the lower floor of the royal keep, 
and made broader by the addition of arcades on the 


2 IO 


The Knight's Motto . 


sides, the; hall in which the last Hildebert had enter, 
tained four thousand persons, were assembled the chief 
men of the nation, the bravest and best of the officers 
of the army, and of those in civil life. 

During the whole of the night last past, and during 
the half of the present day already gone, word had been 
circulated that the son of Hildebert the Good had 
arrived at his capital, having been sent by the emperor 
to take the throne and the sceptre rightfully his own. 
And more — The story of the prince’s life had been told 
from the time of his escape with his mother from the 
dungeon to which Thorgard had consigned them, to the 
present. 

The people had heard with amazement and horror, 
and had cried aloud for their true prince. In the camp, 
by the river, the army had risen, almost to a man, in 
favor of the lawful sovereign ; and within the citadel, 
when the truth had become known, the garrison had 
declared for the brave and gallant paladin. Aye, even 
those who, a few short hours before, had promised to 
bring in his severed head on the point of a spear, when 
they knew who and what he was, freely and heartily 
offered to him allegiance. 

Just one hour previous to Thorgard’s arrest, the party 
from Langwald Castle had entered the citadel b}^ way of 
the subterranean passage. Old Englehard and General 
Bernaldo had come on in advance to give notice of their 
hero’s arrival ; so that, when Winfred himself came, a 
thousand loyal friends had been ready to meet him. 

Two old officers had stood at the head of the assem- 
bled troops when the youthful paladin appeared before 
them. They were Gotzstaf, of the camp, and Theobald, 
of the garrison of the citadel. 

“ A miracle ! A miracle !” the twain had shouted. 
‘‘ It is Hildebert himself I” 


A s tounditvg Events^— Conclusion. 


2 1 1 


And so others had thought. In short, when the mul- 
titude had seen the prince they knew him for their own. 
Many of them-^very many — remembered the father 
well, and to such the son bore his credentials in his 
face. 

And Winfred had been presented to all who came ; 
and the shout had gone forth— “ The King ! The 
King !” And this was the shout which had been heard 
in the royal closet. 

When Winfred had entered the spacious hall and 
taken his place on the dais of the throne, a score of 
ladies, who had been gathered by the royal nobles, went, 
under guidance of Wamba, and brought forth the Prin- 
cess of Bohemia. 

The first meeting of Winfred and Rowena was in 
private ; and we can imagine the joy and the thanks- 
giving. Then the royal twain came forth upon the dais, 
and the assembled people with loud hosannas and notes 
of heart-sent blessing welcomed their king and queen. 

Into the presence of this assembly, Thorgardwas led. 
Not until he had reached the foot of the dais did he 
raise his eyes to those who stood upon it. When he did 
so, and saw the noble youth who stood foremost, his 
heart failed him ; his last hope died out. Even he, had 
he not been forewarned by the experience of Barwulf, 
might have believed that he looked upon his half- 
brother, Hildebert, raised from the dead. 

There is no need that we should go through with the 
full trial and exposure of the wretched man. Old 
Englehard, who had been to the last Hildebert’s faithful 
esquire and lifelong friend, knew more about the matter 
than did anyone else; so he led in the proceedings. 
He told how the dark-browed Thorgard, son of Hilde- 
bert by his gypsy wife, Zorana, having set his heart 
upon the throne, even at the expense of the most awful 


2 12 


The Knight's Motto . 


and unnatural of crimes, had hired Barwulf and Sindotf 
to waylay and murder the good king, his half-brother, 
while hunting in the forest. 

And then, when this had been accomplished, he gave 
out that the queen, Feodora, had died broken-hearted, 
and that the infant prince had fallen sick and also died 
on the same day; and he contrived that coffins, con- 
taining only sticks of wood should be borne in funereal 
procession and solemnly interred. The people had 
greatly wondered at not being allowed to gaze upon the 
faces of their beloved queen and the Sweet son she had 
borne the king ; but Thorgard had assumed autocratic 
power and his word was law. 

Meantime the queen and her son had been given. into' 
the hands of another hired fuffian, Hertag, who had 
promised Thorgard that he would carry them both to 
one of the deepest dungeons beneath the royal palace, 
there kill them, and then, at night, throw their bodies 
into the deep river. But Hertag’s heart failed him in 
his wicked purpose. He confessed to the dwarf, 
Wamba, what he had promised the new king he 
would do. The queen and the little prince were then 
in the deep dungeon. It fortunately happened that 
Wamba knew the secret of the wonderful subterranean 
pass, from the crypts of the citadel to those of Lang- 
wald Castle, and by that meansdie was able to lead the 
royal mother and son to life and liberty ; and having 
confidence in Hertag’s reformation, and in his faith and 
good-will to the queen, he suffered him to remain with 
the freed prisoners, and to go with them to the court of 
Charlemagne, whither Englehard had fled some time 
before. For it will be understood, Hertag had nourished 
the queen and her child, and made them as comfortable 
as he could, several weeks before he had been able to hit 
upon a way of setting them free ; and during this time 


A s founding Events— Conclusion . 


213 


he had sworn to Thorgard that they were dead. 
Hertag, after he had seen Feodora and her son safe 
under the protection of the emperor, soon fell sick, and 
died. During his sickness he was nursed by Engle- 
hard, to whom he made full confession of all he 
knew of Thorgard’s wickedness, including the assassina- 
tion of Hildebert by Barwulf and Sindorf. All this, 
and more, the old trooper told during the trial ; and 
he told, too, how Charlemagne had reared the young 
prince, who had been named Winfred, so as to fit him 
for the throne of his father. 

Barwulf and Sindorf, when they had been brought 
before the youthful monarch, made a full and frank 
confession, confessing not only the assassination of the 
late king, Hildebert the Good, but also confessing the 
attempt upon the life of Prince Winfred, all of which 
had been done in the service of Thorgard, and by his 
order. 

For further information on the subject of our story 
the reader is referred to the chronicles of the period of 
which we have written. They tell how the assassins of 
Hildebert the Good, self-convicted, were executed ; and 
how the treacherous Thorgard, unrepentant and 
unloved, died in prison. 

They tell, also, how the great emperor, Charlemagne, 
bringing the queen mother, Feodora, with him, came, 
with a brilliant suite of paladins and noble knights, to 
perfect the union of Moravia and Bohemia, and to assist 
in the coronation of Winfred and Rowena as king and 
queen of the new realm. 

They tell, too, of the great joy of the people, and 
of the love and hearty support they gave the royal 
pair. And they tell of enduring peace and prosperity, 
and consequent happiness, throughout the united king- 
dom. 



Furthermore, a detailed account is given of the 
wonderful subterranean passage, by means of which 
Prince Winfred and his friends gained entrance to the 
citadel of Olmutz. We will add, however : In course 
of time that remarkable work was suffered to fall into 
decay ; and during the Thirty Years War, from the 
ravages of which Moravia suffered more than any other 
country, it became completely destroyed and obliterated, 
with scarcely a vestige left to indicate its whereabouts. 

oa .3 .8 *a 

THE END. 

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TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN 

.alirodBaiadw alt al/ioibni ol lia( agrja.T/ js vlaariioa rili u 

By S. E. BOGGS. 

.CTH3 5THT 

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY WARREN B. DAVIS. 


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WIFE AND WOMAN; 

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A TANGLED SKEIN. 

TRANSLATED FROM THE OERMAN OF 

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By MARY J. SAFFORD. 

. Y 3 -H -W O J . M -Cl . 8 H M 

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1 

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;.y di .y>vf *4 :>* jeI-3 H 






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THE NORTHERN LIGHT. 

t/lO 

TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN OF 

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.millhciia! i J 

Mrs. D. M. Lowrey. 

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A SON OF OLD HARRY. 

51 Nootl. 

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JsttcsM F' ... ; , 

A NOVEL. 

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MRS. BARR’S SHORT STORIES. 

“Femmetia’s Strange Experience” and 
Other Stories. 

- ' Y3 3 WO J .M XI . a H‘ M 

BY 

AMELIA E. BARR, 

Author of “ The Beads of Tasmer ,” “ Love For An Hour Is 
Love Forever f “ A Bister to Esau,” “ Jan VeddeAs 
Wife “Friend Olivia,” “A Bow of 
Orange Ribbon ,” etc., etc. 

12mo. 350 Pag-es. With Portrait of the Author and Numerous 

Illustrations. Handsomely Bound in Cloth. Price, $1.25. 
Paper Cover, 50 Cents. 

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All admirers of Mrs. Barr’s novels will be glad to possess a col- 
lection of her short stories. No writer of the day has won an 
honorable place in the literary world by more thorough and ad- 
mirable work. For many years a contributor to the best period- 
icals, her shorter tales afforded the training by which she rose to 
higher flights in her more extended works. We read the 
short stories of a great writer with curiosity to see what strikes 
the eye and mind in moments of relaxation and at play. These 
short stories of Mrs. Barr are full of happy thoughts, situations, 
incidents, poetry and wisdom. They supply agreeable diver- 
sion for many a leisure moment. 

For sale by all booksellers and newsdealers, or sent, postpaid, 
on receipt of price, by the publishers, 

ROBERT BONNER’S SONS, 

Cor. William and Spruce Streets, New York. 


The Breach of Custom. 


TRANSLATED’ FROM THE GERMAN 


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Mrs. D. M. Lowrey 

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WITH CHOICE ILLUSTRATIONS BY O. W. SIMONS. 

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Paper Cover, 50 Cents. Bound "Volume, $1.00. 


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This is a translation of an interesting and beautiful German 
tiovel, introducing an artist and his family, and dealing with the 

most pathetic circumstances and situations. The heroine is an 

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ideal character. Her self-sacrifice is noble and exalted, and the 
influence which radiates from her is pure and ennobling. Every 
one who reads this book will feel that it is one which will be a 

life influence. Few German stories have more movement or are 

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more interesting. There are great variety and charm in the 

characters and situations. 

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For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt of 

price by 

ROBERT BONNER’S SONS, Publishers, 

182 William Street, New York, 


COUSIN PONS. 


TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH OF 

n mm wroi 

HONORE DE BALZAC. 

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12mo. 439 Pag-es. "With Twelve Beautiful and Characteristic 

. v v . is '{ ;i - ■■■-. j : 

Illustrations by Whitney. Handsomely Bound in Cloth, Price, 
$1.00. Paper Cover, 50 Cents. 

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0 d ^voO * 10543*1 . 00 . 1 $ t »orx , i - 

Cousin Pons is one of the most interesting characters in the 
whole rangd of Balzac’s wonderful creations. Balzac penetrated 
human nature to its depth. There is scarcely a type which 
evaded his keen eye. His characters are types of the living, 

human world swarming at his feet. His creations are as real as 

, , .. . . 

noble peaks standing out against an evening sky. In every one 

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of Balzac’s novels there is a great human lesson. There is not a 

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volume you can open which does not set forth some deep human 

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truth by means of characterizations so vivid that they seem to 
breathe. So it is with “ Cousin Pons.” After reading it we 
think of him not as a character in a novel, but as a personage — a 
sweet and true soul— a simple enthusiast for art and beauty at 
the mercy of selfish and vulgar harpies. 

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A Mew Novel by the Author of “Under Oath.” 


10 HOKSJre 1HT MOJIT CI3TAJ2kJA.HT ' 

JOHN WINTHROPS DEFEAT. 

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BY JEAN KATE LUDLUM. 


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ILLUSTRATED BY VICTOR PERARD. 

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12mo. Beautifully Illustrated. Handsomely Bound in Cloth, 
Price, $1.00. Paper Cover, 50 Cents. 

— 

Miss Ludlum’s new novel is her best. It is a delightful story 
of life at the famous seaside summer resort on Fire Island, and 
presents a pleasing picture of the gayety and frivolity that reign 
during the heated term in American watering places. There is 
an interesting romance growing out of the vicissitudes of Wall 
Street speculation and the complications of fashionable society. 
The heart of a true woman beneath the silks and laces proves 
stronger than any change that outward fortune brings in the 
circumstances of her life, and she triumphs over every depression. 
There is an abundance of incident, and the scene of the story 
ranges from New York to California, and from Paris to Florence. 
The illustrations add much to the beauty of the book. 

For sale by all booksellers and newsdealers, or sent, postpaid, 
on receipt of price, by the publishers, 

ROBERT BONNER’S SONS, 

Cor. William and Spruce Streets, New York. 


“A GOOD FRENCH NOVEL.” 


MADEMOISELLE DESROCHES 

BY 

Andre Theuriet, 


TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH 


By META DE VERE. 


WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY HARRY C. EDWARDS. 


12 mo. 320 Pages. Illustrated. Handsomely Bound in Cloth, 
Price, $1.00. Paper Cover, 50 Cents. 


Andre Theuriet is a name well known to readers of choice 
fiction. Her novels occupy a high place in modern French 
literature. Many of them have been translated and published 
here, but this one, so far as we can ascertain, is entirely new. 
It is the story of a French physician’s daughter brought up by a 
French peasant family, whose good sense and delicacy of feeling 
are strengthened by a simple country life. Her subsequent his- 
tory is full of interest, and shows how closely character and truth 
and romance are related. 

For sale by all booksellers and newsdealers, or sent, postpaid, 

• '■ v> 

on receipt of price, by the publishers, 

ROBERT BONNER’S SONS, 

Cor. William and Spruce Streets, New Y> 


THE LEDGER LIBRARY. 


l.-HER DOUBLE LIFE. By Mrs. Har- 
riet Lewis. Cloth, $1.00 ; paper, 50 cts. 

— UNKNOWN. By Mrs. South worth. 

Cloth $1.00 : paper, 50 cts. 

3. -THE GUNMAKER OF MOSCOW. By 

Sylvan u» Cobb, Jr. Cloth, $1.00 ; paper, 

4. — MAUD MORTON. By Major A. R. 

Calhoun. Cloth, $1.00 ; paper, 50 cts. 

5. — THE HIDDEN HAND. By Mrs. E. 

D. E. N. Southworth. Cloth, $1.00 ; paper, 
50 cts. 


6. — SUNDERED HEARTS. By Mrs. Har- 

riet Lewis. Cloth, $1.00 ; paper, 50 cts. 

7. — THE STONE-CUTTER OF LISBON. 

By Wm. Henry Peck. Cloth, $1.00; 

f aper, 50 cts. 

ADY KILDARE. By Mrs. Harriet 
Lewis. Cloth, $1.00; paper, 50 cts. 

9.— CRIS ROCK. By Captain Mayne Reid. 

Cloth, $1.00 ; paper, 50 cts. 

0.-NEAREST AND DEAREST. By Mrs. 
E. H. E. 1ST. Southworth. Cloth, $1.00; 
paper, 50 cts. 

1. — THE BAILIFF’S SCHEME. By Mrs. 

B Harriet Lewis. Cloth, $1.00; paper, 
oO cts 

2.-A LEAP IN THE DARK. By Mrs. 
E. D. E. N. Southworth. Cloth, $1.00; 
paper, 50 cts. 

3.— HENRY M. STANLEY. By H. F. Red- 
dall. Cloth, $1.00 ; paper, 50 cts. 

4. — THE OLD LIFE’S SHADOWS. By 
Mrs. Harriet Lewis. Cloth, $1.00 ; paper, 
50 cts. 

5.— A MAD BETR OTIIAL. By Laura J ean 
Libbey. Cloth, $1.00 ; paper, 50 cts. 


6. — THE LOST LADY OF LONE. By Mrs. 

E. D. E. N. Southworth. Cloth, $1.00; 
paper, 50 cts. 

7. — IONE. By Laura Jean Libbey. Cloth, 

$1.00 ; paper 50 cts. 

8. -FOR WOMAN’S LOVE. By Mrs. E. D. 

E. N. Southworth. Cloth, $1.00; paper, 
50 cts. 

9. — CESAR BIROTTEAU. By Honore De 

Balzac. Cloth, $1.00 ; paper, 50 cts. 
0.-THE BARONESS BLANK. By 
Niemann. Cloth, $1.00; paper, 50 cts. 

111.— PARTED BY FATE. By Laura Jean 
Libbey. Cloth, $1.00; paper, 50 cts. 
I2.-THE FORSAKEN INN. By Anna 
Katharine Green. Cloth, $1.50 ; paper, 
50 cts. 

!3.— OTTILIE ASTER’S SILENCE. 

Translated from the German. Cloth, 
$1.00; paper, 50 cts. 

4.— EDDA’S BIRTHRIGHT. By Mrs. Har- 
riet Lewis. Cloth, $1.00 ; paper, 50 cts. 


* 5. — THE ALCHEMIST. From the French 
of Honore De Balzac. Cloth, $1.00 ; paper, 
50 cts. 

6. — UNDER OATH. -An Adirondack 

Story. By Jean Kate Ludlum. Cloth, 
$1.00 ; paper, 50 cts. 

7. — COUSIN PONS. From the French of 

Honore De Balzac. Cloth, $1.00 ; paper, 
50 cts. 

8. — THE UNLOVED WTFE. By Mrs. E. D. 

E. N. Southworth. Cloth, $1.00; paper, 
50 cts. 

9 —LILITH. By Mrs. E. D. E. N. South- 
worth. Cloth, $1.00 ; paper, 50 cts. 

I 0.— REUNITED. By A Popular Southern 
Author. Cloth, $1.00 ; paper, 50 cts. 

1. — MRS. HAROLD STAGG. By Robert 
Grant. Cloth, $1.00; paper, 50 cts. 


32. — THE BREACH OF CUSTOM. From 

the German. Cloth, $1.00 ; paper, 50 cts. 

33. — THE NORTHERN LIGHT. Trans- 

lated from the German of E. Werner. 
Cloth, $1.00 ; paper, 50 cts. 

34. — BERYL’S HUSBAND. By Mrs. Ilar- 

riet Lewis. Cloth, $1.00 ; paper, 50 cts. 
o0 * — A LOVE MATCH. By Sylvanus 
Cobb, Jr. Cloth, $1.00 ; paper, 50 cts. 

36. — A .MATTER OF MILLIONS. By Anna 

Katharine Green. Cloth, $1.50; paper 

50 Ct8 * * * 

37. — EUGENIE GRANDET. By Honore 

OQ Cloth, $1.00; paper, 50 cts. 

38. — THE IMPROVIS ATORE. Translated 

irom the Danish of Hans Christian 
Andersen. Cloth, $1.00 ; paper, 50 cts. 

39. — PAOLI, THE WARRIOR BISHOP, 

or The Fall of the Christians. By W. 
C. Kitchin. Cloth, $1.00 ; paper, 50 cts. 

40. — UNDER A CLOUD. By Jean Kate 

Ludlum. Cloth, $1.00; paper, 50 cts. 

41. — WIFE AND WOMAN. Translated 

from the German by Mary J. Safford. 
Cloth, $1.00; paper, 50 cts. 

42. -A N INSIGNIFICANT WOMAN. 

Translated from the German of W. 
Heimburg, by Mary Stuart Smith. 
Cloth, $1.00 ; paper, 50 cts. 

43. — THE CARLETONS. By Robert Grant. 

Cloth, $1.00 ; paper, 50 cts. 

44. — M A 1) E M O 1 SELLE DESROCHES. 


Translated from the French of Andre 
Theuriet, by Meta De Vere. Cloth, $1.00 ; 
paper, 50 cts. 

45. — THE BEADS OF TASMER. By 

Amelia E. Barr. Cloth, $1.25 ; paper, 
50 cts 

46. — JOHN WTNTHROP’S DEFEAT. By 

Jean Kate Ludlum. Cloth, $1.00; paper, 
50 cts 

47. — LITTLE HEATHER - BLOSSOM. 


Translated from the German, by Mary J. 
Salford. Cloth, $1.00 ; paper, 50 cts. 

48. -GLORIA. By Mrs. E. D. E. N. South- 

worth. Cloth, $1.00; paper, 50 cts. 

49. — DAVID LINDSAY. A Sequel to Gloria. 

By Mrs. E. D. E. N. Southworth. Cloth, 
$1.00; paper, 50 cts. 

50. — THE LITTLE COUNTESS. Trans- 

lated from the German by S. E. Boggs. 
Cloth, $1.00 ; paper, 50 cts. 

51. — THE CHAUTAUOXJANS. By John 

Habberton. Cloth, $1.25 ; paper, 50 cts. 

52. — THE TWO HUSBANDS. By Mrs. 

Lewis. Cloth, $1.00 ; paper 50 cts. 

53. — MRS. BARR’S SHORT STORTES. 


By Amelia E. Barr. Cloth, $1.25; paper, 
50 cts 

54.— WE PARTED AT THE ALTAR. By 

Laura Jean Libbey. Cloth. $1.00 ; paper, 
50 cts. 


55. — WAS SHE WTFE OR WIDOW ? By 

Malcolm Bell. Cloth, $1.00; paper, 50 cts. 

56. — THE COUNTRY DOCTOR. By Hou- 

ore De Balzac. Cloth, $1 .00 ; paper, 50 cts. 

57. — FLORABEL’S LOVER, or Rival 

Belles. By Laura Jean Libbey. Cloth, 
$1.00; paper, 50 cts. 

58. — LIDA CAMPBELL, or Drama of a 

Life. By Jean Kate Ludlum. Cloth, 
$1.00 ; paper, 50 cts. . 

59. — EDITH TREVOR’S SECRET. By 

Mrs. Harriet Lewis. Cloth, $1.00; paper, 
50 cts. 


60.— CECIL ROSSE. A Sequel to Edith 
Trevor’s Secret. By Mrs. Harriet Lewis. 
Cloth, $1.00 ; paper, 50 cts. 


For sale by all Booksellers and Newsdealers, or sent, postpaid, 
jn receipt of price, by the publishers, 

ROBERT BONNER’S SONS, 

Cor. William and Spruce Sts., New York. 


THE POPULAR SERIES 


1 — THE OUTCAST OF NIIEAN. A Companion Story to “ The 

Gunmaker of Moscow.” By Sylvanus Cobh, Jr. Paper Cover. Price, 
25 Cents. 

2— ROEEO OF KORMANDI. By Sylvanus Cobb, Jr. Paper Cover. 

Price, 25 Cents. 

.2 — NI A 1ST SATTERLEE AROAG THE IADIAAS. By William 

0. Stoddard. Paper Cover. Price, 25 Cents. 

4— KIT CARSON’S LAST TRAIL. By I ^eon Lewis. Paper Cover. 

Price, 25 Cents. 

5— THE SCOURGE OF DAMASCUS. By Sylvanus Cobb, Jr. Paper 

Cover. Price, 25 Cents. 

0— THE GREAT KEATON FEUD. By Capt. Frederick Whittaker. 
Paper Cover. Price, 25 Cents. 

7- LUKE HAMMOND THE MISER. By Wm. Henry Peck. Paper 

Cover. Price 25 Cents. 

8— THE CONSPIRATOR OF CORDOVA. By Sylvanus Cobb, Jr. 

Paper Cover. Price, 25 Cents. 

0— THE FORTUNES OF CONRAD. By Sylvanus Cobb, Jr. Paper 
Cover, Price, 25 Cents. 

10— THE DIAMOND SEEKER OF BRAZIL. By I jeon Lewis. . 

Paper Cover. Price, 25 Cents. 

11— THE ROBBER COUNTESS. By Sylvanus Cobb, Jr. Paper 

Cover. Price, 25 Cents. 

12 — BEE RUBIO. By Capt. Frederick Whittaker. Paper Cover. Price, 

25 Cents. 

13— THE ROYAE OUTLAW. By Sylvanus Cobb, Jr. Paper Cover. 

Price, 25 Cents. 

14— THE BANDIT OF SYRACUSE. By Sylvanus Cobb, Jr. Paper 

Cover. Price, 25 Cents. 

15— RODERICK OF, KILDARE. By Sylvanus Cobb, Jr. Paper 

Cover. Price, 25 Cents. 

16— THE SERF LOVERS OF SIBERIA. By Leon Lewis. Paper 

Cover. Price, 25 Cents. 

17 — EARL THE EION. By Sylvanus Cobb, Jr. Paper Cover. Price, 

25 Cents. 

18— THE YOUNG CASTAWAYS. By Leon . Lewis. Paper Cover. 

Price, 25 Cents. 

10 — THE CALIPII OF BAGDAD. By Sylvanus Cobb, Jr. Paper 
Cover. Price 25 Cents. 

20— THE SPECTRE’S SECRET. By Sylvanus Cobb, Jr. Paper 

Cover. Price, 2 j> Cents. 

21— THE KNIGHT’S MOTTO. By Sylvanus Cobb, Jr. Paper Cover. 

Price, 25 Cents. 

22— ALARIC, or THE TYRANT’S VAUET. By Sylvanus Cobb, Jr. 

Paper Cover. Price, 25 Cents. 

For sale by all Booksellers and Newsdealers, or sent, postpaid, 
on receipt of price, by the publishers, 

ROBERT BONNER’S SONS, 

Cor. William and Spruce Sts., New York. 
















































































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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 





